


Drowning

by KatieKatherine



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Drowning, F/M, Gen, violent dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:17:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 35,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieKatherine/pseuds/KatieKatherine
Summary: "Where am I?" Leo asked."Safe. I found you in a lake. You were attacked.""Who are you?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is after Leo recovers from his neck injury. It won't really talk about it till the series ends in the USA.

Leo could hear people chasing him. He ran as fast as he could. It was dark, cold, windy, and it was snowing. Leo was felling very cold and tired. He could see a lake so he stopped. He couldn't hear anything other than his own breathing. Then he was attacked by a dog. He tried to get it off of him. He cried out in pain as the dog scratched his head and then his thigh. He stumbled into the lake and hit his head on a rock. He swam to the surface and took a deep breath. Then he felt something pull him under again. He tried to get away but couldn't. Then he saw a man pulled him deeper. Leo kicked him but the man punched him and pushed him under. The man took a breath of fresh air and then went back under. The man punched Leo again and Leo began to drown. The man climbed out of the water and ran away. They didn't know that  a girl had followed them.

She went to the lake and could feel Leo. She grabbed him and somehow pulled him out of the lake. She pulled him to shore and checked to see if he was breathing. When she saw that he wasn't, she started trying to revive him. Eventually, Leo gasped and coughed up the water in his lungs. He didn't wake. The girl somehow managed to get him to a cabin. She got him to bed and went to work taking his wet clothes off. She covered him up and tried to keep him warm. Leo was practically blue. The girl did everything she could. When she was done, she treated his wounds. She treated his wounds. She also charged him when she saw the wire. When Leo was charging, she checked his pulse. When she was done, she made some tea and took care of his wet clothes. She fixed the fire to get rid of the cold air. She drank her tea and made sure that there was a warm cup of tea for Leo. She went to the other bedroom and saw two girls sleeping on the bed. She picked up the baby and fed her. When she was done, she saw the other girl wake up.

"Mummy, I really cold." The little girl mumbled.

"I know you do, Rosetta but your sister is warm. You did a good job." The older girl answered.

"I something warm."

"You want something warm?" The mum wondered. Rosetta nodded. "Sure."

Rosetta followed her mum to the living room. The mum put the baby in Rosetta's arms and made some hot chocolate. When she was done, she made sure that it wasn't too hot for Rosetta. When it was cool enough, she gave it to Rosetta.

"Mummy, who he?" Rosetta wondered as she pointed at Leo..

"I don't know. He was being chased." The mum replied.

"Will wake?"

"Who knows. We just have to take care of him and make sure that he lives. He might have a family."

"Hope stays."

"We don't know what kind of person he is."

"I hope he help us."

"Me too."

The mum picked up the baby and put her in the crib in Leo's room. Leo moaned and began to wake up. The mum went to him and made sure that he was ok. Leo started coughing. The mum put her hand on his forehead.

"Hey, calm down. You're safe." The mum whispered. Leo opened his eyes and looked up at the girl. 

"Where am I?" Leo asked.

"Safe. I found you in a lake. You were attacked."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Lucille."

Then Leo had a coughing fit. He coughed so much that he started to retch. Lucille grabbed a trash can and put it under his head. Leo vomited in the trash can. When he was done, he laid down. He saw his arm and side.

"What happened?" Leo whimpered.

"You were attacked by a dog and his owner." Lucille replied. "Let's get you covered up."

"I'm so cold."

"You will be. You have hypothermia."

Lucille covered Leo up. 

"I'll bring you your tea." Lucille said.

"Where's my clothes?" Leo wondered.

"They were soaked. They're drying. You would have died if you had stayed in them."

"Like it would have matter."

Lucille become confused. She grabbed Leo's tea. She saw Rosetta at Leo's bed. 

"Rosetta, what are you doing in here?" Lucille questioned.

"See him." Rosetta answered.

 

"I know you want to see him but he's still sick. Go finish your drink."

"Yes, ma'am."

Rosetta left the room. Lucille helped Leo sit up so that he could take a sip. When he was done, he pushed the cup away. Lucille put it on the night table.

"What are you?" Lucille wondered.

"I'm human with synth technology in my brain." Leo mumbled.

"I don't like synths."

"Why?"

"There was a synth were I was living. He was a good synth till something happened and then he was as bad as everyone else. He hurt my daughter and me."

"He became conscious."

"But how?"

"My synthetic sister released the code that was in me and my family's head. A friend matured the code and released it to save me and my mum/sister."

"Oh, I guess you want to get back to your family then?"

"As soon as I can."

 "That won't be for a while. You're still very sick and I don't know how bad and your wounds need to be tended to till we know that everything is safe."

"What do you mean safe?"

"I think the dog may have been rabid. I did what I could but I don't know if it's enough."

"I need to call Mia. She could help."

"I don't have a phone."

"An I didn't have one."

"I would go get her if you were well enough to watch my kids."

"I can't."

"It's just Rosetta and Violet. Rosetta is one nearly two and Violet is 5 months. They are very well behaved."

"I don't know how to take care of babies."

"Oh, but didn't you take care of your siblings?"

"They were synths. I don't have a human family. My parents were human but they committed suicide."

"My parents sold me."

"How old were you?"

"Don't know. I was very little. For as long as I can remember, I've been raped and beaten within an inch of my life every day and night. Rosetta was beaten for a full week. that's when I escaped with her. I was pregnant with Violet. I gave birth to her very early. I need to put Rosetta to bed. What's your name?"

"Leo."

Lucille left the room. She put Rosetta to bed.

"Mummy, I cold." Rosetta cried.

"I'll go get you a blanket." Lucille sighed.

"Two."

"I'll go get you two blankets."

Lucille went into Leo's room and saw Leo trying to get up. She went to him and pushed him down.

"Don't get up. You need to rest." Lucille warned.

"Unplug me. I don't need to be charging." Leo moaned. Lucille did as she was told. She gave Leo the cord. He put it on the floor. Lucille covered him up and went to get blankets for Rosetta. 

"Mummy, cold." Rosetta cried.

"I'm coming." Lucille sighed. Lucille went to Rosetta and covered her up with the blankets. She put some on the couch. Then she heard Leo cough. She went to him and saw him sitting up. "I told you not to get up." She went to him and helped him lie down.

"No, I need to get up. I need to get home." Leo panted.

"No like this. Your clothes won't be dry till morning. You're still warming up."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Lucille put her hand on Leo's forehead.

"You're burning up." Lucille gasped. She covered him up and tried to make sure that he couldn't really move. "Get some sleep."

"Thirsty." Leo moaned. Lucille helped him drink the rest of his tea. When Leo was finished, he fell asleep. Lucille went to the couch and made her bed. She grabbed Violet and changed her. Violet cooed slightly. Lucille smiled and held her. Lucille fell asleep with Violet in her arms. That morning, Leo woke up and moaned. He wasn't able to move. He felt a little better but not much. He could hear a baby cry. Lucille woke up hearing Violet cry.

"Calm down, Violet." Lucille whispered. Violet calmed down slightly. Lucille fed Violet and tried to rest. When she was done, she got up and went to check on Leo. She put Violet in her crib. She saw that Leo was awake. "How do you feel?"

"A little better." Leo answered. Lucille checked him over.

"You are doing better. You might be able to get up a bit when you get dressed."

Lucille gave Leo his dry clothes. She left the room and made breakfast. Leo got dressed. When he was done, he slowly walked to the living room. Lucille was cutting some fruit. Rosetta was on the couch curled up in a ball. Leo bumped into Lucille. Lucille jumped and cut her hand. She hissed painfully and went to her room. Rosetta sat up and looked at Leo.

"Why did she do that?" Leo asked.

"She like 'hat." Rosetta answered. Leo saw Lucille sit on the bed, hold her hand, and cry. He went to the door.

"I didn't mean to bump into you."

"No, it's just I have these attacks. Sometimes Rosetta will touch me and I freak out. I can't seem to stop."

"You were tortured since you were little. I think it's normal to have attacks."

"That was 5 months ago."

"Still. I drowned 11 years ago and I'm still afraid of water. What happened last night didn't help."

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It will be hard to put the past in the past. I still haven't."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. Let's get that treated."

Lucille followed Leo. Leo helped Lucille treat her cut. When they were done, Lucille went back to making breakfast. Rosetta was curled up in a ball facing Leo. Leo saw her smile at him. He picked her up and put her on his lap.

"Why are you smiling?" Leo teased.

"Because." Rosetta cooed.

"Why?"

"Don't know."

"Then let's give you a reason to smile."

Leo tickled Rosetta and Rosetta laughed and told Leo to stop. Leo eventually stopped and Rosetta giggled. 

"Rosetta, come eat breakfast." Lucille said.

"I cold." Rosetta mumbled. 

"You can't eat on Leo's lap."

"It's ok. I won't be able to eat for a while." Leo sighed.

"Ok." Lucille replied. She gave Rosetta her breakfast. Rosetta ate her breakfast. Lucille sat on the couch and tried to rest. For the next few days, Leo got better and helped Lucille care for the kids. One night, Leo woke to Rosetta screaming. He got up and went to Rosetta. He saw her in bed screaming and trashing. He sat down on the bed and picked her. Rosetta got worse. Leo shushed her and tried to calm her down.

"Rosetta, you're safe. Everything is ok." Leo whispered. He stood up and went to the window. Rosetta eventually woke up. She started crying. "Look at me, Rosetta." Rosetta looked at Leo. "It's ok, sweetie. DO you want to talk about it?"

"They 'urt me." Rosetta cried.

"Did the man in your dreams hurt you?"

"Yes."

"Well, he won't hurt you again. He's not real. Even if he was, I will protect you. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Good. Now go back to sleep."

"I sleep you?"

"Ok. You can sleep with me but first you have to fall asleep."

Rosetta fell asleep. Leo saw Lucille at the door.

"Thank you, Leo. I would still be trying to calm her down by now." Lucille thanked.

"I know what it's like have really bad nightmares." Leo answered.

"I do too but I was alone so no one was there to help me and tell me that the monsters wouldn't hurt me. I was told that the monster were going to hurt me and they did."

"They won't anymore."

"I hope so."

"She wants to sleep with me. Is that ok?"

"Yes. I should go get Violet."

"Last I knew, she was asleep."

"Still. She wakes up early in the morning screaming."

"Ok."

Leo took Rosetta to bed. Lucille took Violet to bed. Leo laid down and covered himself and Rosetta up. Rosetta curled up on his chest and he smiled. Lucille laid down on Rosetta's bed and fell asleep with Violet on her. The next night, Leo was playing with the girls when he heard a door open and screaming. He opened the door slightly and saw a man confronting Lucille. Lucille had a knife in her hand. Leo grabbed Violet and Rosetta and put them in the closet.

"Be very quiet. Do not move and stay in here." Leo whispered. Leo closed the door and went back to the other door. He looked out and saw the man attack Lucille. Lucille stabbed the man and he fell to the ground. Leo went out and went to Lucille. Lucille held the knife up against him. "Lucille, it's me. You're safe."

Lucille dropped the knife and angrily looked at the dead man. 

"I won't take this any longer." Lucille vowed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After season two, Odi became conscious again and Leo's family helped him and now he's like them and loves it. SO that's why he's in it. I know. I could have done better but I haven't watched season two so most of this is what I've read and heard and watched on youtube, facebook, and instagram.

"We should leave." Leo suggested. 

"Ok." Lucille answered. They got the girls ready and left. Leo was holding Rosetta who was bundled up. Lucille was holding Violet who was also bundled up. Both little girls were asleep. They went to London and went to the Hawkins. When they got there, it was noon. Leo knocked on the door.  Mia opened it.

"Leo, you're ok." Mia whispered as she hugged Leo. Leo hugged back.

"I missed you." Leo answered. Then Rosetta kicked. Leo and Mia pulled away.

"Who's this?"

"Rosetta. That's her mum Lucille and the baby is Violet."

Lucille gave Mia a cold look and Mia became a little uncomfortable. 

"Come in." Mia said. They went inside and got settled. Flash went to Lucille and touched Violet. Lucille pushed her away.

"Don't touch my baby." Lucille hissed.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to help." Flash answered.

"Well, don't."

Flash walked over to Max and they were confused. Leo looked at Lucille and sighed.

"Lucille, please be nicer." Leo sighed.

"I need a blanket. I need to feed Violet." Lucille answered.

"I'll get you one." Mia suggested. "Leo, can I talk to you?"

"Sure." Leo replied. He put Rosetta on the couch. He followed Mia. When they were in the hall, Mia stopped.

"Who is she?"

"She saved my life. I nearly died and she saved me."

"Then why was she so rude?"

"She was beaten and raped within an inch of her life for most of her life. A synth became conscious and was just as bad as the humans."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, is this about Hester?"

"Yes. You helped Hester and what did she do? She nearly killed you. How do we know that Lucille isn't the same way?"

"Because she has two little girls. She's very protective of them."

"Why are they so kind to you?"

"They wanted someone to help them and I did and I will. They need it."

Mia grabbed a blanket. She went to Lucille was on the couch with Violet in her arms. 

"Here's your blanket." Mia kindly said.

"Thanks." Lucille mumbled as she took the blanket and covered herself. She fed Violet and watched all the synths with a cold look. Laura saw it and went to Mia.

"Why is she so rude?" Laura asked.

"Ask Leo." Mia answered. Leo was holding Rosetta and was playing with her. Lucille looked at the two and smiled. Mattie came in and saw Leo.

"Leo, where were you?" Mattie wondered.

"Running from someone. I don't know who he was." Leo answered.

"We didn't have our talk."

"Oh. Can it wait?"

"No. I want to talk to you right now."

"Fine."

Leo put Rosetta down and followed Mattie to her room. They went in and closed the door.

"Will you ever learn? What's her story?" Mattie asked.

"What? I bring a girl 8 years younger than me and you get jealous? What is your problem?" Leo questioned. "She has two girls and no intention of dating anyone."

"Where were you?"

"I was running for my life. Someone was chasing me and I ran into the woods. It was night and it was cold and windy. I got attacked by a dog and fell into the lake. The man came and started drowning me. Lucille saved my life."

"Then why did you bring them here?"

"They need a home and she killed a man who was trying to attack her. I was in my room playing the her girls when I heard the door open. I opened my door slightly and saw Lucille against the wall with a knife in her hand. The man was yelling at her so I hid her kids and just as I was about to help her, the man attacked her and she killed him. I went out and calmed her down. I suggested that we leave. SO we came here. She was raped and beaten within an inch of her life since she was very little. Even a synth hurt her."

"You win. Maybe you have learned from last time."

"She isn't Hester. I'm more worried about what Niska will do than what Lucille will do. Is this really what you want to talk to me about?"

"No. There's been something that I've been needing to tell you about for a while now."

"What?"

"Hester knew that I was mad that you had sex with her. She also knew that I had feelings for you. She said that they were misplaced. I have feelings for you, Leo. Just tell me if she's right."

"She had misplaced affection for me. You didn't. If you did then that means I have misplaced affection for you."

"What?"

"I love you too."

"Really or are you lying like you did to Hester?"

"I'm not lying, Mattie. I really do love you."

Leo held Mattie's hand and looked at her. Mattie smiled slightly. Then they kissed. When they pulled away, Leo was crying.

"You know my dad wouldn't like the fact that we're dating." Mattie warned.

"I know but I don't care." Leo answered.

"I don't either."

"We should go or they'll get worried."

"Ok. I really do believe you about Lucille and her girls. It's obvious that she's just hurting inside."

"She vowed that she was not going to take it any longer. I'm not being blind but I'm not going to confront her. She has attacks and I don't want to trigger one again."

"How does she get triggered?"

"By touch. If you touch her and she can't see you, she freaks out. She cut her hand last time."

"I tell everyone so that they know."

"Ok."

They left the room. Mattie warned everyone while Leo played with Rosetta. When Mattie was done, she went to Leo and sat next to him. Rosetta smiled at Mattie and Mattie smiled back.

"Who you?" Rosetta asked.

"My name is Mattie. What's yours?" Mattie answered.

"'osetta."

"Her name is Rosetta. The baby is Violet." Leo said.

"Two very pretty names and very pretty flowers." Mattie replied. "They are so adorable."

"Thank you." Lucille mumbled. She had finished feeding Violet and now was taken a nap. Laura came over and kneeled down next to Lucille.

"DO you want something to drink. I know that you must be exhausted after feeding the baby." Laura wondered.

"Not really. I'm fine."

"Ok. Tell me if you need anything."

"I will."

Laura left the room. Lucille tried to take a nap.

"Do you want me to take Violet so you can sleep?" Leo asked.

"No. I can handle her." Lucille answered.

"Ok."

Lucille finally fell asleep. Sophie came in and went to Rosetta.

"Who are you?" Sophie asked.

"This is Rosetta." Leo replied.

"Hello, Rosetta. My name is Sophie. Do you want to play with me?"

Rosetta nodded.

"Come on, let's go upstairs to my room." Sophie suggested.

"She can't go upstairs. You two can play in here." Leo answered.

"Ok."

Rosetta and Sophie went over to the corner of the living room and played. Leo smiled and looked at what Mattie was doing. He put an arm around Mattie. Joe came in and saw it. He slapped Leo's arm.

"Move your arm, Leo." Joe warned. Leo sighed and moved his arm. Joe went to the other couch and sat down. Mia, Niska, Max, Flash, and Odi were at the table. That night, Lucille was cutting some fruit up for Rosetta. Niska purposely bumped into her. Lucille turned around and pointed the knife at Niska. Niska grabbed her hand and the knife fell out of Lucille's hand. Lucille cried out in pain. Laura, Joe, and Leo came in.

"What happened?" Laura asked.

"She attacked me." Niska lied.

"You bumped into her. She's going to attack." Leo yelled. "Now, let her go."

"No."

"She can't hurt you. You're synth and she's human."

Niska let go of Lucille. Lucille rubbed her hand and looked at Niska angrily. Leo picked up the knife and finished cutting the fruit. 

"Lucille, put some ice on your hand." Leo suggested. Lucille did as she was told. She left the room and sat down on the couch. Mattie could see the fear in her eyes. She was about to ask what happened but Laura came in. Mattie went to Laura.

"What happened to Lucille?" Mattie asked.

"She attacked Niska. Niska grabbed her hand and Lucille dropped the knife. Leo is being blind. He said that Lucille would attack because she was touched. Niska said just as I left that she didn't touch Lucille." Laura explained.

"But Lucille won't attack unless you touch her. Leo bumped her once and she cut herself. Then she put the knife down and ran to her room crying. She's afraid."

Laura looked at Lucille but didn't see the fear in Lucille's eyes. She saw the anger on her face.

"I thought you were better than this, Mattie. Right now, you're as bad as Leo." Laura said. Then she left. Mattie sighed and went to Lucille. She sat down and looked at Lucille.

"I believe you. Niska has lied before and is most likely lying now." Mattie whispered.

"Thanks." Lucille mumbled.

"Tell me what happened?"

"I felt something touch my back. I freaked out and then everything was dark. Then I saw Niska grabbing my hand and the knife fell out of my hand. Then I heard Leo yelling at her. I swear I didn't know that I had pointed the knife at her."

"Has this happened before?"

"Yes. When Leo bumped into me, everything turned black and then I saw my hand bleeding so I ran to my room and cried."

"Can I see your hand?"

Lucille showed Mattie her hand. Mattie saw the bruise that was starting to form.

"I'll be right back." Mattie sighed. Mattie went to the kitchen and saw Leo giving Rosetta her bowl of cut apples. "Leo, we need to talk." Leo followed Mattie to the corner.

"What?" Leo asked.

"When Lucille came in and sat down, her eyes were full of fear and her face was full of anger. Mum told me what Niska told you. I told her that Lucille was afraid. She looked at Lucille and said that I was blind. I talked to Lucille and she told me that Niska touched her and everything went black. The next thing she knows, Niska is grabbing her hand and the knife drops on the floor. Then she said that when you bumped into her, everything went black. The next thing she knows, her hand is cut and she runs to her room crying."

"She blacks out when bumped and then when something violent happens like being grabbed or getting hurt, she freaks out thinking that she's make in that place."

"Exactly."

"But no one will believe us."

"We have to try."

"I know."

Leo sighed and looked out and saw Lucille. Then Toby came over.

"I saw it all. Niska lied. She did bump into Lucille. I saw fear in Lucille's eyes and she looked angry but when she moved to point the knife at Niska, her face was blank. Then Niska grabbed her and she became afraid and angry." Toby explained.

"Yeah, we know but everyone will say that we're blind to the truth. She's not Hester. No one is exactly like Hester." Leo replied.

"She isn't like Hester. She's different."

"Now, all we have to do is convince everyone else." Mattie sighed.

After dinner, the synths went upstairs to talk about their new guest.

"We have to protect Leo from her. She's as bad as Hester. She helped him once but who knows why." Mia said.

"But how do we know that she is bad?" Odi wondered.

"I'm with Odi." Max answered. "I saw her give all of us a dirty look but I also remember seeing Leo give the Hawkins that same look. She's not use to being around synths that actually care. The first synth she met betrayed her. It was the same way with Leo. The first humans he encountered, they committed suicide. He connected with her because he saw that. We should be grateful that she's nice to humans."

Then Laura and Joe came.

"We think that Lucille is like Hester." Laura said.

"She isn't Hester. George said that everyone is different. She's not Hester. Hester was a synth. Lucille is a girl. A mother trying to live. She's like us. She's trying to find a place in the world. If we push her away, she will turn against us." Odi explained. "I'm with Max."

"What if she's already turned against us? What if the girls are not actually her girls? What if she's been lying to Leo?"

"What if she doesn't even know what she's doing till someone grabs her like Niska did or is injured like I saw." Leo said as he, Toby, and Mattie came over. "I'm not being blind to her like I was to Hester. I've learned my lesson. She did vow that she would no longer take this. I don't know what she meant exactly but I do know that she won't harm us. The people that harmed her, maybe but not us. Mattie talked to her. She said that Lucille said that Niska touched her and everything went black. The next thing she knew, Niska was grabbing her hand and the knife dropped to the floor. Toby saw it."

"When Niska touched her, her face was blank. Then when Niska grabbed her, her eyes were full of fear and she looked angry." Toby answered.

"It's tied. 5 of us think that she's like Hester while the other 5 think that she's just a girl needing love and respect. To think that I'm the only girl here that believes Leo. That makes me feel weird." Mattie stated. She reached for Leo's hand and they held hands. Leo smiled at her and Mattie smiled back. "Just so you know, Leo and I are dating now."

Leo and Mattie went back downstairs.

"You did that to make them mad." Leo realized.

"Yep." Mattie answered.

"You are dangerous."

"Well, so are you."

"Now, we have to wait till they are done fighting."

"Well, we could go walk."

"I guess we could."

The two went outside and walked for a bit. It was snowing again.

"I don't have school tomorrow. It's snowing a lot." Mattie said.

"Good." Leo answered. "That means we can have fun tomorrow." 

"Yep."

They walked for a bit and then went back home. When they got to the house, everyone was downstairs. Lucille was holding her girls.

"What's going on?" Leo asked.

"I don't know." Lucille cried. Leo picked up Rosetta while Mattie took Violet. "They came down here fighting."

"Let's go upstairs."

"No, she stays." Niska ordered.

"What has gotten into you?" Leo yelled as he put Rosetta down. "You are scaring Rosetta and Lucille. They don't need that."

"Why are you so blind?"

"Why are you so blind? What did she do to ask for a beating?"

"We were not hurting her."

"By coming down here and yelling and getting in her face, you might as well be beating her. Girls, go to Mattie's room. I'll talk these idiots into shutting up."

Mattie took the girls upstairs to her room. They went in and closed the door. 

"I shouldn't have come." Lucille cried.

"No, it's just Leo trusted a synth and she ended up stabbing him in the neck. They think that because you looked at the synths cruelly that you are like Hester. Toby saw what happened between you and Niska." Mattie explained.

"I can't control myself, Mattie. I've tried but I can't."

"I know. It's part of being human."

Then Leo, Max, Odi, and Toby came in.

"They all went to Laura and Joe's room. It's a tie. We need someone to side with us." Leo said.

"No, I should leave. I shouldn't have listened to you." Lucille cried. Leo went to her and hugged her.

"No, you need to stay. You need help. You need a family. We know that something is going on inside you and that you can't control it."

"But they don't."

"They will. You'll see."

"What about Fred?" Mattie suggested.

"But how do we find him?" Leo asked.

"They might be trying to get Astrid on their side. She would willingly because of Niska. We need two people." Max warned.

"Ok. Karen and Fred. I know where Karen is and I know how to find Fred." Mattie answered.

"But how?"

"We use the tracking device Hobb used. I copied it onto a flash drive."

"Leo, it could work."

"It will work. Fred is known for seeing things that no one else can see. But the thing is, he's known for being neutral." Leo said.

"Still, it will work." Mattie replied. 

"Let's do it now."

So they plugged the flash drive into Leo's laptop and Mattie and Leo worked on Fred's code. 

"Got it. He's moving." Mattie exclaimed.

"Moving where?" Toby wondered.

"To our meeting point." Leo realized. "Let's go."

"Who's going?"

"Mattie, Max, and I. You and Odi can watch Lucille. She'll need help." 

"But now how do we get rid of the code inside of Fred."

"One little thorn at a time. The consciousness code must have woken him up."

"Ok."

SO the three left. They arrived at the meeting point and saw Fred waiting for them.

"Leo." Fred said as the two hugged.

"We've missed you." Leo whispered.

"I've missed you. Where is everyone?"

"AT home playing war. That's why we need you."

"Then let's go."

"Is anyone following you?"

"No. I put the code on a flash drive when I saw that you were following me."

"Good. Let's get rid of it."

They threw the flash drive in the lake and then went home. They explained what was happening. When they got home, they went to Mattie's room. Fred saw Lucille trying to button Rosetta's shirt. Fred touched her and Lucille slapped him. Fred grabbed Rosetta's hand and saw that Leo was right.


	3. Chapter 3

"Leo, you are right. There is something going on with Lucille. You might know what it is. She's gone through a trauma and is very scared. Whenever exposed to it, she has an attack. What do you think it is?" Fred explained.

"PTSD?" Leo wondered.

"Yes, and the fact that she has had two kids means that it is worse than others."

"That's right because I remember whenever I had a shower or even drank a cup of water, everything would go black and then the next thing I know, I'm coughing and choking."

"Yes."

"Are you saying that I have PTSD?" Lucille asked.

"Yes. We can help you. Leo has gone through it." Fred answered.

"Ok but what about the others?"

"We'll talk to them in the morning. We all should get some rest."

They all charged and got some rest. That morning, Lucille was cutting up an apple when everyone came into the kitchen. Niska went to Lucille and touched her. Lucille blacked out and turned and pulled Niska to her putting the knife to her neck. Leo and Mattie could see no emotions in Lucille's eyes.

"Lucille, stop it. Let go of Niska and put the knife down." Fred said. Mia went to her and touched her shoulder. Lucille got worse and started to panic. "No, do not touch her. She has PTSD. That's why she acts the way she does."

"No, she wants to hurt us." Niska answered. Lucille pulled the knife closer. Leo saw the fear and anger on Lucille's face.

"Lucille, put the knife down." Leo whispered.

"She was going to hurt me. Why was she going to hurt me?" Lucille wondered.

"Because she's my brat of a sister who doesn't realize that she had gone through that but did anyone make her relive it? No. It's PTSD. If Fred says it is, then it is. Now, Lucille, put the knife down."

Lucille put the knife down. 

"I'm calling the police." Laura said.

"Then you'll have to have me arrested to." Leo answered.

"She needs help, Leo."

"Prison won't help her any. It will only make things worse and her kids need her."

"But they can help her."

"No, they can't but having a family will."

Fred went to Lucille and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It will be ok. You can stay. We will help you, I promise." Fred said. Lucille smiled slightly.

"Thank you but I should leave. If no one is going to accept me then I shouldn't be around them." Lucille replied.

"But I have accepted you. Leo told me what you went through."

Lucille left the room and sat on the couch. Sophie was with her and the kids.

"I thought all of you were better than this." Fred explained. "You have caused for trauma than good memories. She has suffered more than anyone has. I thought we accept people not tear them down. How will humans accept us if we do not accept them? We are no better than them. This is proof of that."

"Fred is right. We are better than this. She has had PTSD all this time and we have argued and fought in her face. We should be better than that." Leo answered. "I'm going to go make sure that she's ok."

Leo left the room. 

"AT least some of use were trying to help her and not make her life worse than it already is." Mattie mumbled as she left the room. She saw Leo hugging Lucille as she cried. She went to them and put a hand on Leo's shoulder. He looked up at her and smiled sadly. "Leo, I need to talk to you."

"Ok." Leo sighed. They went to where they could talk alone. Mattie sighed and looked up at Leo.

"I just can't believe that my family would do this."

"Same here. There's something more going on."

"Yeah. It's been really hard since you and your family came back into our lives. I guess I'm overwhelmed."

"Yeah. I understand."

"I can't lose you again, Leo."

"I can't lose you either."

Mattie hugged Leo and he hugged her back. They hugged each other for a few minutes. Then they kissed passionately. 

"Tonight, I'll come to your room so that we can talk." Leo whispered. 

"Ok." Mattie answered. They let go of each other. Joe had seen the two talk and went to Leo.

"DO not touch my daughter." Joe ordered.

"I don't think you have a say in the matter. You did touch my sister." Leo hissed. Leo walked away. He picked up Rosetta and kissed her forehead. He played with Rosetta for several minutes. Mattie took a shower and got dressed. When she was done, she saw Leo on the floor playing with Rosetta.

"Leo, I want to go outside." Rosetta said.

"Maybe in a little while. You got to eat breakfast and then lunch before you can." Leo replied. 

"Ok."

After lunch, Leo took Rosetta outside. Lucille watched the two play. She fed Violet. Odi came in and saw Lucille.

"Are you ok?" Odi wondered.

"I'm fine." Lucille replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"What is it like being a teenage girl?"

"Not the funniest. You don't really know who you are. No trusts you. You don't know when something is right or wrong."

"Same with me. I don't know what is right or wrong. Some people do not trust me. I do not know why."

"Because people are rude and painful to be around."

"Soon I might understand."

"I've been alive for 16 years and I still haven't been able to understand them."

 Fred came in and saw how pale Lucille was. He saw her feeding Violet. He went to her and sat next to her.

"How do you feel?" Fred asked.

"I'm fine." Lucille answered.

"You barely have any nutrients. You should be careful feeding Violet."

"I know but I can handle it."

"You should be very careful. You will not be able to get the nutrients needed as quickly as you are needing it."

"I'll be fine."

Several minutes later, Leo and Rosetta came in. They got changed and went to the living room. They sat on the couch and played. Lucille finished feeding Violet and tried to rest. Violet yawned and Lucille smiled.

"Go to sleep, baby." Lucille whispered. Violet kept yawning and eventually fell asleep. "What were you two doing?"

"Playing in snow." Rosetta answered.

"I know that."

"We played snowball fight." Leo replied. Mattie went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Joe and Laura went to her.

"Is Leo treated you properly?" Joe asked.

"Better than Harun ever did." Mattie answered.

"We barely know him, Mattie. What if he hurts you?"

"You saw us."

"We're only trying to make sure that you are safe." Laura said.

"You see how he is to Rosetta. He adores her. He wouldn't hurt me." Mattie replied. She went to the living room and sat on the other couch next to Leo and Rosetta. That night, Leo and Mattie were in Mattie's room talking.

"I know that my family doesn't want me to get hurt again but I'm not a baby. I can handle myself. I was angry and Hester used that against me. I had it coming, I guess. I treated them like they couldn't do anything without me and know they are paying me back." Leo sighed.

"Sometimes I feel like my parents would rather I have me date Harun over you. The difference between you and Harun is that you actually care. He doesn't. He just likes smoking with me, kissing me, and that stuff." Mattie answered.

"I like you because of who you are. Everything you say and do, I love. When I couldn't think of something, you always seemed able to think of it. You understood me and helped me even if I was creepy."

"Well, you said that you had gone to charm school so I took a chance."

"Max will not let me live that down."

"Well, it's a good thing you said that or who knows where we would be."

"I would be dead."

"And I would be doing drugs and getting in trouble."

They kissed passionately. Then someone knocked on the door and the two pulled away.

"We really need to go on a date." Leo moaned. 

"Come in." Mattie sighed. Joe came in and saw the two.

"What are you two doing?" Joe asked.

"Trying to talk alone. We have a lot that we need to talk about and we can't talk because everyone keeps coming in here."

"I'm sorry about Lucille. I was wrong but I do want to know Leo's intentions."

"I'm not going to use her like Hester used me. We won't be having sex till we get married so it's not sexual." Leo answered. "I'd rather die than hurt Mattie. I will do anything and everything I can to protect her."

"That had better be the truth." Joe warned.

"It is."

Joe left the room and closed the door. 

"I mean it, I will do everything I can to protect you and I would rather die than hurt you." Leo whispered.

"I know. I love you." Mattie replied.

"Love you too."

They kissed again and when they pulled away, they smiled.

"AT least no one bothered us that time." Mattie said.

"Yeah." Leo answered. 

 They kissed again. When they pulled away, Mattie put her hand on Leo's neck where his wound was. Leo groaned slightly.

"Does that hurt?" Mattie asked.

"A little." Leo mumbled.


	4. Chapter 4

"How about your headaches?" Mattie asked.

"I still have them once a day." Leo moaned.

"You look tired."

"I am."

"Go to sleep."

"Your dad wouldn't want me to."

"Just take a nap before you pass out."

They kissed and Leo took a nap. Mattie rubbed Leo's back. She went to bed. The next morning, Leo woke and saw Mattie on the bed sleeping. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 9 in the morning. He got up and went to the living room. He saw Lucille holding Violet. Rosetta woke up and looked up at Leo. Leo picked her up and Rosetta groaned and put her head on Leo's shoulder. 

"Hey, where did all that energy go?" Leo asked.

"Don't 'eel good." Rosetta mumbled.

"Why don't you feel good?"

Rosetta shrugged her shoulders. Leo put his hand on her forehead.

"Lucille, she has a fever." Leo said.

"Are you sure?" Lucille questioned. She stood up and put a hand on Rosetta's forehead. "She is burning up."

"I'll go take her to the kitchen. Mia might have something for her."

"Ok. I'll make a bed in the corner for her to sleep on so that everyone can still sit on the couches."

"Ok. Give me her baby blanket."

"The blanket you got her or the one that you got her?"

"The one I got here."

Lucille smiled and handed it to Leo who covered Rosetta up. Leo took her to the kitchen. Lucille made Rosetta's bed. 

"Mia, where's a thermometer?" Leo questioned.

"I'll go get it. Why?" Mia answered.

"Rosetta is burning up."

Mia went over and put her hand on Rosetta's forehead. She looked over at Fred, Max, and Flash.

"I need all three of you. I want each of you to put your hand on her forehead one at a time." Mia ordered. The three did and found what Mia found.

"Leo, she needs to go to the hospital. Her fever is 105.7." Fred said.

"One of the synths has a medical program. Go to her. " Flash suggested. Leo followed Flash to the synth. The synth checked her over. 

"Rosetta has a high fever and her lungs are very weak." The synth explained. "Does your head hurt?" Rosetta nodded. "Are you cold?" Rosetta shook her head and tried to push the blanket off. "Do you feel like you have to go?" Rosetta nodded. "Do you feel like you want to throw up?" Rosetta nodded. 

"Rosetta, can you tell us how you feel?" Leo whispered.

"Hurts." Rosetta croaked. 

"Where?"

She pointed to her head, chest, stomach, and bladder.

"What would cause that?" Flash wondered.

"Like a stomach virus. She might even have the flu." Leo sighed.

"I'm not completely sure what it is so I suggest that you watch her carefully and if she gets worse, let me know." The synth replied.

"We will."

Leo went to the kitchen and grabbed Rosetta's cup. Rosetta drank some water. Mattie went to Leo.

"She's sick." Leo said.

"I didn't ask." Mattie answered.

"I knew you would."

"Give me a kiss."

They were about to kiss but Joe and Laura came in. Laura saw the look on Leo's and Mattie's faces. Then Rosetta starred crying and whimpered. Leo shushed her.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Leo asked. Rosetta pointed to her throat and then started retching. Leo grabbed a small thrash can and put it under Rosetta's head. Rosetta puked several times. When she was done, Leo handed the trash can to Mia and then rocked Rosetta to sleep. Rosetta cried and whimpered. Soon she started hiccuping. "Go to sleep."

"No." Rosetta whimpered. Leo sighed. 

"Then drink some water and try to eat something. Fred, cut some fruit for you."

Rosetta nodded and did as she was told. When she was done, Leo took her to the living room and sat down on the floor next to Rosetta's bed. He rocked her and rubbed her head. When she was asleep, he laid her down and covered her up. Lucille came over and took care of Rosetta. Leo went to Mattie who was on her laptop.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked. 

"Nothing. It's just there are bombing all over the world." Mattie sighed. 

"It's not your fault. You did what you had to do."

"That doesn't change the fact that this is my fault."

"It's not. No one could have known."

Then they heard a bomb go off and screaming. 


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone ran outside and saw everyone running. Fires and debris were everywhere. Leo pulled Mattie close to him.   
“Lucille, get the kids and take them to the bathroom.” Leo ordered. Lucille nodded and ran inside. Leo whispered into Mattie’s ear. “This is not your fault.”  
Everyone went to work helping others. Leo found a girl on the ground crying. He went to her and kneeled next to her.   
“How do you feel?” Leo asked.  
“I can’t feel my legs.” The girl cried. Leo looked at her legs and touched them.  
“Does it hurt?”  
“No.”  
“What’s your name?”  
“Becca.”  
“My name is Leo. How old are you?”  
“7.”  
“Tell me about your family.”  
“I have seven siblings. Jacob is 15, Jane is 13, Beth is 9, Seth is 6, Samantha is 4, Thomas is 2, and Tara is 6 months.”  
“We’ll find your family. Let’s get you taken care of.”  
Leo picked her up and took her inside. He saw Mia and went to her.  
“What happened?” Mia asked.  
“I found her on the ground crying. Her legs are injured and she can’t feel or move them.” Leo explained.  
“Put her on the cot.”   
Leo put her on a cot and helped Mia clean Becca’s legs.   
“Her whole family is missing. I need to go to Fred. Becca, I’m going to go find your family. My sister Mia will help you. Ok?” Leo whispered.  
“Ok.” Becca cried. Leo squeezed her hand and left. He saw Fred and ran to him.   
“Fred, there’s a girl who’s missing her whole family. She has seven siblings.” Leo panted.  
“They could be with Mattie and Flash. Leo, this neighborhood isn’t the only neighborhood that was attacked. Several of them have been attacked. We need to find all the survivors we can.” Fred explained.  
“I know.”  
Leo went to Flash and Mattie.  
“Is there a group of seven siblings and they are missing one?” Leo wondered.  
“Yes, there are with the synth in a green shirt.” Flash answered. Leo kissed Mattie’s cheek and went to them.  
“Do you have a sister named Becca?”   
“Yes, is she ok?” Jacob asked.  
“Yes. I’ll take you to her.”  
They went to the house and went in. They saw Becca on a cot sleeping. Laura was cleaning her up and making her comfortable.  
“How is she?” Leo whispered.  
“She started feeling pain in her legs. They gave her something for the pain.” Laura sighed.  
“Jacob, can I talk to you?”  
“Sure.” Jacob mumbled. He kissed Becca’s forehead and followed Leo into the hallway.  
“Can you tell me what happened?” Leo asked.  
“We heard an explosion and our house caught fire. Mum and dad yelled at me to get the kids out. I grabbed them and we ran. Mum and dad were still in the house. Are they ok?”   
“We don’t know. We’ll find them. Most of the houses are no longer on fire. We should be able to find them. You’ve done a good job. Go spend time with your siblings.”  
Jacob went to his family and they watched Becca. Leo went outside and saw Fred and Max.  
“We’ve found all the victims in the house. One of them had a picture of 8 kids.” Fred sighed. He gave the picture to Leo. Leo closed his eyes and then looked at the two.  
“Are they dead?” Leo rasped.  
“Yes. We can take you to their bodies.”  
Leo followed them and saw the kids’ parents.  
“We have more than 8 orphans. How many children have died from the fires?” Leo cried.   
“None but many were wounded. We should count that as a good thing.” Max answered.  
“I have to tell them.”  
Leo went inside and Jacob looked up at him. Leo looked at him and gestured for him to follow him. Jacob followed Leo to the hallway.  
“Did you find them?” Jacob wondered.  
“Yes. I’m so sorry. They… they didn’t make it.” Leo choked.   
“No. I want to see them.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes.”  
Leo took him to where the dead bodies were. When Jacob saw his parents, he cried out and tried to run to them. Leo grabbed him and they fell to the ground. Leo held Jacob as he cried and screamed. Jacob tried to fight Leo but Leo was stronger. Jacob eventually stopped fighting.   
“I’m so sorry, Jacob. I’m so sorry.” Leo whispered. He hugged Jacob who sobbed and hugged Leo back. Leo looked up and saw Mattie. Mattie looked at him and was crying. “Jacob, we need to tell your siblings.”   
“What will we do? We have no one left.” Jacob whimpered.  
“We’ll find something.”   
They went to the house. Leo and Jacob went to the kids. They sat next to them. Becca was awake.  
“I’m sorry. We found your parents but they didn’t make it.” Leo said. All the kids started to grief. The younger ones didn’t understand. Becca looked at him with tears in her eyes. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure that you have a good family and that you get to stay together.” Leo wiped the tears from Becca’s eyes. “I promise. I need to go help them find the survivors.”  
Leo got up and felt Jacob grab his hand.  
“Thank you for helping us.” Jacob thanked.  
“Your welcome.” Leo answered. Leo left the house and saw Mattie. He went to her and hugged her. The two cried. “This is not your fault, Mattie. This is the world’s fault. The people made their choice and now we have to make ours.”  
“I can’t help but feel guilty. I released the code. I made people chose.”  
“If you didn’t then I wouldn’t be here, Mattie.”  
Leo and Mattie kissed. Joe saw them and was about to go over to them but he was called. When Leo and Mattie pulled away, Leo looked at her and smiled.  
“Tonight, we can spend the night together. I know we’ll need each other in order to sleep.” Leo sighed.  
“Ok.” Mattie mumbled.  
“I love you.”  
“Love you too.”  
“Will you be ok?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Ok.”  
Leo kissed her cheek and then went to help Fred and Max. They were moving rubble into a better area.  
“What can I do to help?” Leo wondered.  
“Help us move the rubble. We need to be careful. There are tunnels under here and they are very weak.” Fred replied.  
“Are the houses safe?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good.”  
They spent most of the day working. They worked late into the night. Leo was exhausted and was having a hard time moving some of the rubble. Max saw that he was tired.  
“Leo, go get some rest. You’ve been working very hard for several hours.” Max said. “We have enough help.”  
“Ok.” Leo panted. He went inside and saw Mattie at the counter top in the kitchen. He went to her and hugged her. “I’m back. Let’s go to bed.”  
“Ok. First you should take a shower.” Mattie whispered.   
“I will.”  
“Leo, do you want something to eat?” Laura wondered.  
“No.” Leo replied.   
“Drink some water before you pass out.”  
Laura gave him a cup of water and Leo drank some water. Mattie rubbed Leo’s back. Leo groaned and put the cup down. Leo and Mattie went upstairs. Leo took a shower and got cleaned up. He went to Mattie’s room and took his shirt off. Mattie was sitting on the couch resting. He went to her and kissed her. Mattie woke up and kissed him back. Leo sat next to her.  
“Go get ready for bed.” Leo whispered.  
“Ok.” Mattie sighed. She got ready for bed. Leo sat on the bed and tried to relax. Mattie finished getting dressed and went to him. He looked at her and held her hands.  
“You look really tired.”  
“I am.”  
“Can you rub my back? It really hurts.”  
Mattie pushed him unto the bed and Leo groaned.   
“Fine but only if you promise to help me sleep.” Mattie whispered.   
“I was going to anyways.” Leo answered.  
“Good.”  
Mattie rubbed Leo’s back.   
“Your back is so stiff.” Mattie panted.  
“I know. I am so sore from today.” Leo moaned.  
“You’ll probably sleep better than me.”  
“Yeah not while there’s a war outside.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
Leo rolled over and looked at Mattie.   
“Please don’t say I’m sorry. Say it again and I think I’ll bust.” Leo warned. “You didn’t do anything. I would have done the same. I love you, Mattie. Please don’t do this to yourself. It hurts me so much when you do this.”   
“I can’t help it.” Mattie sighed.  
“I love you, Mattie.”  
Leo pulled Mattie close and kissed her. They fell asleep in each other’s arms. They woke up several times due to nightmares. Mattie was thrashing and whimpering. Leo woke up and rubbed Mattie’s back.  
“It’s ok, Mattie. Just go back to sleep.” Leo whispered. Mattie calmed down and looked at him.   
“What time is it?” Mattie asked. Leo looked at the clock and moaned.  
“8. I need to get up. I have to work.”   
“I’ll try to get some rest.”  
“Ok. Text me if you need me to came help you sleep.”  
“I’ll be fine.”  
Leo got dressed and kissed Mattie.  
“I’ll come check on you when I can.” Leo whispered.   
“Ok.” Mattie answered. “Be careful.”  
“I will.”  
Leo went downstairs to the kitchen. He sat at the counter top and groaned.   
“Do you want anything, Leo?” Laura asked.   
“Just a very strong cup of coffee. I also need to talk to you alone.” Leo moaned.   
“Ok.”  
Laura got Leo’s coffee ready and then sat next to him.  
“What do you want to talk about?” Laura asked.  
“Mattie. She’s been so depressed and I’m afraid. I had to sleep with her. Neither of us slept very well. I’m so worried. I’m afraid to leave her alone. Can I marry her?” Leo explained.  
“Yes. You can. I know that watching her suffer through this has been very hard on you. I also know that you love her and that your intentions for her are good.”  
“Thank you.”


	6. Chapter 6

Leo went to work. They found many survivors and sadly, many dead bodies. Leo saw Lucille taking care of the orphans. 

“How many children are left without a family?” Leo wondered.

“47.” Lucille sighed.

“Why are we so cruel?”

“Who knows. Right now, we should worry about giving the survivors a place to live.”

“We’ll have to flee if they attack again.”

“I know. There are safe havens all over the world.”

“We’ll have to create one of our own.”

They had finished moving all the rubble and getting everyone settled. Leo went inside and saw that Mattie was still in bed. He went to her and kissed her forehead. Mattie woke up and groaned.

“I wanted to ask you something.” Leo whispered. 

“What is it?” Mattie asked.

“Will you marry me?”

“Why are you asking now?”

“Because I want to be by your side till the day we die. I want to be able to help you through this without feeling that I shouldn’t because we are not married.”

“Yes, I will marry you.”

“Good. Now, let’s go get some fresh air.”

Mattie got up and got dressed. They went for a walk outside. Leo took her to the park where the orphans were playing.

“There are 47 orphans so far out of the several neighborhoods. They need a home. Becca and her family need a home. All of these children have no idea what could or will happen to them. All they know is that they are alone. I was one of them and Lucille is one of them. I think this has hit me the hardest. Knowing that these children have no home and that they might not even survive hurts more than I can say.” Leo explained.

“What are you saying?” Mattie asked.

“I found out when I was 15 that I could never be a biological father. Back then, I didn’t care about starting a family. I only cared about protecting the family I had. Then I met you and now I want to be a father but I know that they will never be biological.”

“You want to adopt.”

“Yes.”

“Ok .I saw how you were to Becca and her siblings, we can adopt them. I still want to try to have a child with you.” 

“Why? It will be in vain.”

“But we won’t know that till we try.”

“Fine.”

So a few days later, they got married and adopted Becca and her siblings. They also adopted a three year old girl who was a big as a newborn baby. A month later, Mattie found out that she was not pregnant. 

“I’m not pregnant, Leo.” Mattie sighed.

“I told you that so.” Leo answered.

“Leo, not every woman can get pregnant after one try. We can try again.” 

“What’s the point?”

“Leo, it will work. We’ll try 4 more times and if it doesn’t work, I’ll stop this.”

“Fine.”

They tried again. One night, Leo was on the couch reading to the little ones. When he was done, he took them to bed and covered them up. He saw that Jacob was in his bed crying again. He went to him and rubbed his cheek and shushed him. Jacob got worse.

“It’s alright, Jacob. Everything will be alright.” Leo whispered. 

“It hurts so much. I loved them so much.  I miss them so much. I just want to die.” Jacob sobbed. Leo pulled him into a hug.

“I know. I loved my parents and it still hurts think about them being dead.” 

“I just want to die.”

“I don’t want you to. I love you so much, Jacob. It would kill me if you died.”

Leo kissed Jacob’s forehead and picked him up. He laid him down on the couch and waiting for him to fall asleep. Mattie smiled at the two. Jacob eventually stopped crying. Leo covered him up and hugged him till he fell asleep. 

“Will the pain ever stop?” Jacob asked.

“No. Eventually, you just learn to live with it. It will be very hard but soon it will get easier.” Leo whispered. Jacob fell asleep in Leo’s arms. Mattie went to them.

“He’s taken this a lot harder than the others.”  Mattie said.

“I know but he’ll get use to it.” 

“I hope so.”

“Let’s go to bed.”

SO they went to bed. When they were asleep, Jacob got up and grabbed a knife. He began to cut his arms. He hissed painfully and tried to be quiet. He kept cutting himself hoping that he would die. Leo woke up and saw him. He ran to Jacob and grabbed him.

“No, Jacob. Stop it. Let the knife go.” Leo calmly ordered. He grabbed Jacob’s hand and took the knife. He put someplace where no one could get to it. Mattie woke up and saw Leo holding Jacob who was crying. She turned the lamp on and saw why.

“Oh, Jacob.” Mattie gasped. She went to them and looked at Jacob’s cut up arms and legs. Jacob kept fighting and crying. Leo cried as he tried to stop Jacob.

“Stop fighting, buddy. Please don’t fight. It’s ok. EVerything’s going to be alright.” 

“NO, I just want to die. I want to die. I can’t live without my parents.” Jacob cried.

“Yes, you can. We’ll help you. You have us to lean on. Oh, Jacob, you scared me to death. I love you so much, Jacob. Please, don’t do this again. Promise me that you won’t.”

“I promise.”

Leo looked at Jacob and rubbed his cheeks.

“Please, don’t try to kill yourself every again. I love you. Do you understand that? I love you so much and you scared the heck out of me.” Leo said. 

“I’m sorry.” Jacob answered. He started crying again.

“I know you are.”

Leo hugged Jacob for a few more minutes. 

“I want you to lie down so that we can clean and treat your wounds.” Leo whispered. Jacob did as he was told. Mattie and Leo treated his wounds. Leo grabbed Jacob a change of clothes, a pillow, and a blanket. He got the couch pulled out into a bed so that someone could stay with Jacob through the night. They got the bed made up and helped make Jacob comfortable. When Jacob was asleep, Leo sighed.

“I’ll stay with him tonight, You can get some rest.” Leo sighed.

“Are you sure?” Mattie wondered.

“Yeah.”

Mattie went to bed while Leo watched over Jacob. A few days later, Jacob started running a fever.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Leo was up late tending to Jacob. Samantha was at the door watching him. Leo had not slept since Jacob's incident. He looked over at the door and saw Samantha.

"Come here." Leo whispered. Samantha went over to Leo and sat on his lap. "You should be in bed."

"I'm scared." Samantha mumbled.

"What are you scared of?"

"Bad people."

"Are you scared of bad people finding you and hurting you?"

"Yes."

"No one will hurt you, Sam. I won't let them. I will protect you. I promise."

Samantha looked up at Leo and yawned. Leo smiled and pulled Samantha close.

"I love you and your siblings. I will protect you." Leo sighed. Samantha eventually fell asleep on Leo. Mattie saw Samantha and Leo and tried not to cry. She knew that the kids were scared and that Leo was trying to help them but she also knew that he wasn't sleeping properly. 

"Do you want me to take Sam to bed?" Mattie wondered.

"No. I'll do it." Leo sighed.

"You should sleep."

"I can't."

"I know but you have to or you could die."

Leo looked up at Mattie.

"Even if I do, it won't change anything." Leo cried.

"Change what?" Mattie asked. She kneeled down next to Leo and grabbed his hands.

"The flashbacks... The nightmares... They won't leave me alone and I can't forget them."

"You should have told me. If I had known, I would have helped you."

"You have a lot to worry about. I didn't want to had more stress."

"Leo, when you are stressed, I'm stressed."

"I'm sorry. From now on, I will tell you the truth. I promise."

"Good. Now go put Samantha in bed."

Leo took Samantha to her room and laid her down on her bed. He covered her up and smiled when he saw her beautiful green eyes. He rubbed her forehead with his thumb and sighed.

"I thought you were asleep." Leo said.

"Are you sick, daddy?" Samantha asked.

"No. I'm fine."

"But mommy said that you haven't slept very well."

Ok. Yes, I am sick but I'll be fine. Now get some sleep."

"Yes sir."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Leo kissed her cheek and went to bed. He saw Mattie tending to Jacob.

"I'm going to go take a shower and then I'll watch him." Leo stated.

"Take a shower and then go to bed." Mattie ordered.  

"Yes ma'am."

Leo took a shower and then went to bed. Mattie had fallen asleep watching Jacob. Leo went to Jacob and saw Jacob begin to wake up. 

"Go back to sleep." Leo whispered. Jacob nodded. Leo went to bed and tried to sleep. Jacob got up and went to Leo. He gently shook Leo's shoulder. Leo jumped and sat up. He saw Jacob and sighed. "You should be resting."

"I can't. I wanted to talk to you." Jacob mumbled.

"Fine. Ask away."

"Why us? There were other kids that you could have adopted but you choose us."

"There was something about you guys. I understood how you felt. I don't know... I guess it was something that just... happened."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I did this to myself."

"Jacob, when I was your age, I did the same thing. I had been raped and abused for the past two years by my dad. When he died, I felt like I had killed him. I got so worked up that I cut myself. My family stopped me and they helped me through."

"Was your dad always abusive?" 

"Not really. Verbally, he could be but after I died, he abused me."

"Was he like my dad?"

"I don't know. Why do you ask? Did your dad abuse you?"

"He kept saying that I was worthless and a waste of space. When I did something wrong, he would hit me alot. Sometimes he would touch me."

"Did he do it to your siblings?"

"I don't know."

"What about your mum?"

"She tried to stop it. When our house caught fire, dad had been drinking. He was hurting all of us. Mum defended us. That's how we hot out. Our dad wanted us to stay."

Leo moved so that he was sitting next to Jacob.

" I wish you had told me." Leo sighed. 

"I thought you would hate us if I did." Jacob cried.

"No, I would never hate you. I love all of you very much. Your mum does too. Do you want something to eat?" 

"Yeah." 

"I'll be back. Wake your mum up for me."

"Yes sir."

 Leo went to make something for Jacob to eat. When he went back to the room, Jacob and Mattie were talking.

"Eat slowly. You don't want to puke." Leo warned as he handed the bowl to Jacob. 

"Thanks." Jacob answered. Then they heard Jane scream. Leo got up and went to the girls' room. He saw Jane thrashing and screaming. He went to her and shushed her. Jane woke up and started to freak out.

"Jane, it's just me. I'm not going to hurt you." Leo said. Jane eventually calmed down and looked at Leo. She cried and hugged Leo. Leo hugged her and shushed her. "Jacob told me what your father did."

"He would rape me. He could be very scary when he was drunk." Jane replied. 

"Let's talk with your mum and brother."

They went to Leo's room where Jacob was eating. Leo and Jane sat next to Mattie and Jacob.

"How often did your father drink?" Leo questioned.

"Every other night." Jane mumbled.

"Did he hurt you two each time?"

"Yes."

"What about the others?"

"I saw him hurt Becca, Beth, and Sam. He would tell Sam very scary stories about how if you do something wrong, the monsters will get you."

"That explains why she was scared."

"What did she do wrong?" Mattie asked.

"I heard Mia tell her to stop doing something." Jane mumbled.

"I'll be right back. Mia was cleaning up down there." Leo said. He went downstairs and talked to Mia. "Mia, did Sam do something wrong?" 

"Not really. She had pushed Thomas when he tried to touch her in a wrong way. I scolded Thomas." Mia explained. "Why?"

"Their dad was abusive. Their dad told Sam that if she did something wrong, the monsters would hurt her."

"That's why she started crying. Those poor kids."

"Yeah."

Leo went back to his room and told them what had happened. 

"We should go to bed. We can talk more on the morning." Leo suggested. They went to bed and went to sleep. The next morning, Samantha climbed on Leo and Mattie's bed. She put her hand on Leo's forehead. Leo moaned in his sleep. Samantha shook Mattie who woke up and looked at Samantha.

"Mommy, daddy sick." Sam whispered. 

"No. Your dad is a heater when he sleeps." Mattie replied. 

"I heard that." Leo moaned. He saw Sam and smiled. He grabbed her and tickled her. Samantha started laughing. When Leo was done, he sat up. "Mia told me what happened yesterday. Did you push Thomas?"

"Yes." Samantha mumbled. She started crying. "I'm sorry daddy."

"It's ok."

"Do you hate me?"

"No. I love you so much. Did your dad tell you scary stories?"

"Yes. He said that the monster would hurt you if you did something bad. Then he would touch me." 

"Where?"

Sam pointed to a couple of areas and Leo looked at Mattie. 

"Your daddy was a very bad man. He lied to you about those stories. " Leo warned.

 "Daddy was a bad man?" 

"Yes."

"Are you a bad man?"

"No."

"Good. I like you."

"I like you too."

Leo hugged Sam close. Leo and Mattie got dressed and talked to all the older children. When it was confirmed that all had been abused by their father, Leo and Mattie comforted them. Samantha and Rosetta went outside to play when several bombs went off. The girls became trapped underground in a very tight place. The next few hours were very chaotic for everyone as they tried to find survivors.

"Leo, have you seen Sam or Rosetta?" Mattie wondered.

"No. They were playing outside before this happened." Leo answered.

"What if they are trapped?" Lucille asked.

"Then we'll find them. We'll find them."

"Leo, you need to see this." Fred stated. Leo followed Fred to where the girls had been playing. Fred picked up a shoe.

"That's Sam's shoe. Lucille was right." Leo replied.

"We'll find them."

So they started moving the rubble. After an hour, they found a lot of blood.

"They're hurt really bad. We'll have to be careful." Fred warned. 

"There's not a whole lot of air in this area. They could be suffocating." Leo panted as he moved a piece of rubble. 

"Leo, we've found them."

Leo looked down and saw that it was one of the girls' arm.

"We have to hurry." Leo rasped. They quickly moved the rubble and found the girls. Leo got in the hole and saw that the girls were alive. 

"Are they alive?" Fred questioned.

"Yes but they don't have long."

As Leo was moving Rosetta, she moaned painfully and then coughed. Leo handed her to Fred. He looked down and that Samantha wasn't responding. He picked her up and realized that she wasn't breathing.

"Fred, Sam's not breathing." Leo yelled. Fred took her and started CPR. Leo got out of the hole and tried to find Sam's pulse. "I found her pulse."

For the next minute, Leo and Fred tried to get Sam to breathe again. Leo begged her to stay alive. Finally she started coughing. Leo cried in relief. He kissed her forehead and held her head in his hands.

"You'll be fine, sweetie. Stay with me." Leo cried. The men took the girls home. When they got to the house, they laid them on one of the tables. Mia and Flash did what they could. Leo went to Mattie and Lucille and hugged them. 

"Leo, Sam's brain dead." Mia said.

"How long does she have?" Mattie asked.

"Not long."

Leo and Mattie went to Sam and squeezed her hands. 

"We can't let her die." Leo whispered.

"I know but the only choice we have is to put synth technology in her." Mattie answered.

"Then that's what we'll do. It would devastate us if she dies."

"Then she'll remember everything."

"We can help her. Everything will be ok."

"Ok."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Leo went to Mia.

"We've decided to put synth technology in Sam. I know that it will change her life but we can't bare to lose her." Leo explained.

"We have everything we need. I'll get Flash and Niska to help me. Lucille is with Rosetta. Rosetta's arm is shattered, a few broken ribs, a mild concussion, nose bleeds, and a few other things. She'll live but it will be very painful." Mia explained.

"The poor girls."

Leo went back to Sam and waited for Mia. Several minutes later, Mia, Flash, and Niska came in. Mattie and Leo left the room and hugged their kids as they cried. Mary was in Jacob's arm. Her arm was in a sling.

"She was hit with debris, dad." Jacob said. Leo picked Mary up and held her close. He picked Tara up and held the girls close. They sat up the floor and waited for Mia to come out. That night, Mia came out. Leo stood up and looked at Mia. 

"She'll be fine. She's awake." Mia said. They went in to see Samantha. She was on the table looking around. 

"Daddy, mommy." Sam said. Leo and Mattie hugged Sam gently. Leo helped Sam lie down.

"You should get some sleep." Leo whispered.

"Why?"

"You need to rest."

"Why?"

"Because you're still sick."

"I'm sick?"

"Yes."

"Will I die?"

"No, don't worry. You'll be fine."

Leo rubbed Sam's forehead and squeezed her hand.

"Everything will be alright." Leo whispered. 

"Daddy, why are you crying?" Sam wondered.

"Because we almost lost you. You scared us."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

Leo saw that Sam was very tired. He also saw that she wasn't plugged in. He looked at Mattie and grabbed his charging cord. He looked at Mattie.

"Let's go get you guys to bed. We have a lot to do." Mattie suggested. She took the kids out of the room. Leo pulled the blanket down to reveal her side. He saw the wire and looked at Sam. 

"This is going to hurt, ok?" Leo warned.

"Ok." Sam answered. Leo plugged her in. Sam whimpered and groaned painfully. Leo held her hands and shushed her till it was over. When it was done, Sam was crying. 

"It will be hard, Sam. Trust me but we can do this together." 

"I'm scared."

"I am too."

Leo started to cry. He pulled Sam into a hug and kissed her forehead. Several minutes later, Sam fell asleep. The next morning, the adults met in the living room. 

"Out of the 158 adults, 37 have died, 40 are wounded, and 5 are missing. Out of the 132 children, 59 are orphans, 3 have died, 35 are wounded, and they are all accounted for." Fred said.

"What about the synths?" Leo wondered.

"There are 124 synths, 7 are dead, 31 are wounded, and only 1 is missing."

"It's not safe here. Salvage everything you can. We leave the day after tomorrow just before dawn."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Laura asked.

"We have no choice. If we stay, we'll die. At least if you find refuge there will be a chance." Leo replied.

"But they are people wounded. Sam won't be strong enough."

"Yes she will. The ones that are not wounded will help the wounded. We'll bury the dead tomorrow. We have a lot to do and not a whole lot of time to do it."

"You could be killing more than saving them." Joe warned.

"This is war, Joe. No one will ever be safe but we can prolong their lives. Now, let's get to work." Leo reminded. Everyone did what they could. That night, Leo and Mattie were helping the kids pack. 

"Why are we leaving?" Becca asked.

"Because it's not safe here." 

"Will we be alright?"

"Yes."

"Where will we go?" Seth mumbled.

"Someplace safe. Maybe one day, we'll come back." Mattie replied. 

"I'm scared, mommy. Everyone says that we'll die."

"But we'll die if we don't leave. Everything will be fine."

Mattie pulled Seth into a hug. She looked at Leo who looked down at the ground and knew that he was doubting. She found his hand and squeezed it. She smiled at him and he smiled back. 

"Let's get you guys to bed, tomorrow will be a long day. You will need all the rest you can get. This week will be very hard." Mattie said. She helped the kids get ready for bed and go to sleep. When she was done, she went downstairs and saw Leo eating dinner. She sat next to him and saw that he was just moving his food around on the plate. She squeezed his hand and Leo put the fork down. "We'll make it through this, Leo."

"I know, but maybe everyone is right. Maybe, we should stay here." Leo mumbled.

"Leo, this is the right thing to do. We'll be fine. We'll find a home but if we stay we'll be slaughtered."

"I just can't help but think of everything we could be doing."

"Leo, you have a family that needs you. You can't risk your life for a false cause. You have to protect your family."

"I know."

"Now, finish eating and go get some sleep."

"I have to check on Sam."

"I can do that."

"No, she's like me. I want to help her."

"Ok."

Leo got up and went to check on Sam. Mattie sighed and looked at the plate of food he left. She saw Mia looking at her sadly.

"He's hurting inside." Mattie sighed.

"He's always been very emotional." Mia answered. 

"I know. He's trying to be strong but it's not working. When he saw how the kids were reacting, he was trying not to cry. I fear what will happen."

"You've saved him already. He needs you."

"Thanks."

Leo had finished taking care of Samantha and went to his room. He decided to take a shower. He went into the bathroom and took his shower. When he was done, he got out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel. He stood there crying. He cried for a few minutes. Mattie heard crying coming from the bathroom and went in. She saw Leo crying and went to him. She hugged him and shushed him. Leo fell to the ground and sobbed in Mattie's arms. Mattie shushed him and rubbed his back. After several minutes, Leo looked at Mattie. Mattie cupped his cheeks and wiped the tears that were still falling. 

"Everything will be fine." Mattie whispered. Leo grabbed her arms and nodded. "What's wrong, Leo?"

"I don't know." Leo rasped.

"Get dressed before you catch a cold sitting on the cold floor soaking wet."

"Yes, ma'am."

Leo got up and got dressed while Mattie did the same. When she was done, Leo came out and went to bed. She laid down next to him and wrapped her arms around his back. Leo didn't respond. Mattie found his hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back.

"Talk to me, Leo. Tell me how you feel. You promised that you wouldn't hide your problems from me." Mattie whispered.

"But I don't know what's wrong. I guess I'm just weak." Leo mumbled.

"No, you are so strong, Leo, but maybe that's the problem. By trying to be strong, the walls are closing in on you. It's scaring you. You are not weak, you're human. You are scared and your mind is telling you that you are alone but you are not alone. You will never be alone."

Leo turned around and faced Mattie. 

"But I'm not fully human." Leo whispered.

"But you were born human." Mattie stated. "What happened a few years ago changes nothing."

"You're right."

"Now, can you do something for me?"

"I guess."

"Try to eat something. You didn't eat your dinner."

"I'm not hungry."

"Then you had better eat tomorrow."

"I will."

"Now pull me close to you so that you can feel my heart beat."

Leo did as he was told. He kissed Mattie and the two went to sleep. The next day, they were all busy prepare for the next morning.

"We'll take 5 vehicles. One will have clothes and bedding. One will have supplies. The others will have the wounded. Each will pull a utility trailor. They will hold the supplies as well. The rest of us will walk. The stronger ones will help the little ones. The synths will help the wounded that we can't fit into the vans." Leo explained.

"Are you talking about the 5 15 passenger vans?" Joe wondered.

"Yes. They are the biggest and will be better for all the supplies." 

"We'll need 5 drivers."

"We have 4 shifts. One shift will go from 4am to 8am. Then we'll rest till 10. The next shift will go from 10am to 2pm. We'll take another break till 4pm and the third shift will go from 4pm till 8pm. We'll rest till 10pm and the the last shift will go from 10pm to 2am. It will be very hard but we have no choice. Hopefully, we'll only be doing it for a couple of days. We'll use back roads. It will be safer. How long will it take to camouflage the everything." 

"Not long. We have all we need. Max is already getting started." Fred replied.

"Good. Today is going to be a long day. We'll work till about 5 pm and have dinner. The kids are to go to bed after they are finished. The drivers on the first shift will do the same. We'll work till we get everything done and then rest till 3am and then get ready to leave." Leo stated.

"Let's get to work."

"Have we found all of the missing?" Lucille asked.

"Yes. They will be fine." Fred replied. Lucille nodded. Everyone went to work. That night, they ate dinner and got the kids to bed. Most of the adults stayed up to finish working. It was almost 10pm when they finished. They went to sleep and woke up at 3 to get ready. Leo woke up his kids.

"It's almost time to go. You need to get dressed and get bundled up. It's cold outside. You need to help us get your things put in the van." Leo whispered.

"Why do we have to leave so early?" Seth asked.

"It's safer this way."

"I'm so sleepy." Sam moaned. She went to Leo and tried to sleep on his lap.

"I know. I am too." Leo sighed. "Come on. Let's get you dressed."

They all got ready to leave. They ate a quick breakfast and packed up. AT 4am, everyone was ready to go. They all left. They walked almost all day and all night for 3 days. It was starting to snow when they stopped all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"Nothing, But I think we found shelter." Fred said. He ran to a under ground tunnel and looked inside.

"Can we get the children and wounded inside?"

"Yes. The synths can stay out here. There's room for almost everyone."

"Good."

They got everyone inside. 5 synths stayed outside to keep watch. 

"Daddy, will we be safe here?" Beth wondered.

"I hope so. Get some sleep." Leo whispered. Beth nodded and went to sleep. He looked over at Lucille who was already asleep with her girls close to her. Odi was helping Seth and Jacob sleep. Leo smiled at the three. Mattie was rocking Tara and Mary to sleep. He moved over a little bit to his and Mattie's sleeping bag. Mattie was already in it.

"I'm so tired." Mattie sighed.

"Me too." 

"The girls are asleep."

"Good."

They put the girls down and went to sleep. The next morning, several of them went to one of the vans to talk.

"We can stay here. The ground is very solid. Not even a hundred bombs can break it. We can make it into an underground village. There will be small apartments. Each room will have a couch that folds out into a bed and a closet. The will be ventilation shaft so that air can come through. There will be working bathrooms and a small stove for cooking and warmth. There will be electricity. Each hallway will have 5 apartments. The hallway will also be a living room/game room. The kids can play there and everyone can gather around. We'll have a hospital as well." Fred explained.

"It will take a while but if we start now, that will be great." Leo answered.

TBC

 


	9. Chapter 9

"The synths will do most of it till we can get air into that area. It will be safer that way. All of you humans can start on making the furniture." Fred said.

"What about a garden? We can use that for fresh air and for food." Leo answered.

"That will work. We should build that and the hospital first."

They went to work building their new home. Everyone helped including the children. BY noon, they had finished the garden and many of the female synths had started planting. A few of the male synths and humans made a roof for the garden where sunlight could go through but no one could see through from the top. They covered it with a mossy cover so that people on the top thought that it was moss. They let the kids play in there while the adults worked. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted. The synths had two shift. One shift would charged while the other worked. They worked through the night while the humans slept. Leo was sleeping and charging when Sam came over. She shook Leo.

"Daddy." Sam whispered. Leo woke up and looked at her.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Leo asked.

"Mommy says that you need to help me sleep."

"Ok. Come here."

Leo unplugged himself and plugged Sam in. He pulled her close and went back to sleep. Within the next week, they had finished the apartments and the hospital. Leo and Mattie were helping the kids move in to their rooms. The boys had one room and the girls had the other. Mattie and Leo slept in the main room. Leo had finished helping the boys get ready for bed.

"Come on, boys. Time to go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow. You guys will be helping in the garden." Leo said.

"Can we stay up just a little longer?" Seth asked.

"Nope. Mia wants you fully rested for tomorrow."

Thomas kept jumping up and down on the bed.

"Thomas, calm down." Leo ordered.

"Bed. Bed." Thomas exclaimed.

"You can sleep on the floor if you don't calm down."

Thomas stopped jumping. He laid down and Leo covered him up. He kissed their foreheads and turned the lamp off. He left the room and saw Mattie putting the girls to bed in the other room. He sat down on the couch and looked at his phone. Mattie came out a few minutes later. 

"Flash and a few others are going to town. I'll give them a list of what we need and some money." Mattie said.

"Ok." Leo answered. He saw that something was bothering Mattie. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I didn't get my period this month. I think I'm pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

"No. That's why I'm going to ask Flash for a pregnancy test."

"Ok."

The next day, when Flash and the others got back from shopping, Mattie took the pregnancy test. Leo was in the living room playing with Mary and Tara. When Mattie came out, she had a smile on her face.

"Those doctors were wrong, Leo." Mattie whispered as she sat down and kissed Leo. Leo kissed back. When they pulled away, Leo smiled.

"I guess they were." Leo replied. For the next few months, they all got settled and continued working. One day, Leo and Joe were working in an unstable area when it started to collapse. "Joe, get out of the way!" 

Leo pushed Joe out of the way just as the tunnel collapsed. When the dust cleared, the synths saw that Joe and Leo were trapped. Joe woke up and saw that Leo was beside him.

"Leo?" Joe wondered as he shook Leo. Leo woke up and started coughing.

"Are we trapped?" Leo asked.

"Looks like it."

Leo tried to sit up but Joe stopped him.

"I won't if I were you." Joe said.

"What? Why?" Leo panted. Leo looked down and saw that his legs were crushed by the rocks and blood covered his shirt. Leo lifted his shirt and saw that he was bleeding. He groaned and tried to relax. "Is it my wire?"

Joe looked and saw the wound where Leo's wire was, was bleeding.

"Yeah, but you have a few more injuries." Joe sighed.

"I'm dead. When I get out of here, Mattie will kill me." Leo panted.

"Hormones?"

"No, because she has  to fix my wire, again."

The two laughed. 

"How long will we be trapped here?" Joe questioned.

"For a few hours.  They'll get us out in no time." Leo replied. Then he started to fall asleep. Joe shook him.

"DOn't fall asleep, Leo." 

"It's fine. I'll be fine."

"No, if you fall asleep, you could die."

Leo started to fall asleep. Joe shook him.

"Stay awake or Mattie will kill you." Joe ordered. Leo opened his eyes and moaned.

"You win." Leo moaned. Leo tried to sit p.

"No, don't sit up. You could make it worse." Joe answered. 

"Why is cold in here?"

"It's burning hot in here."

"I think I'm going into shock or I'm losing too much blood but I only have an hour before I shut down. I need to charge."

Leo laid down and groaned painfully. On the other side, everyone was doing what they could. Mia had everything ready. Fred and the synths spent an hour getting the rocks out of the way. Joe was trying to see a hole through the rubble when he heard Leo groan. He saw that Leo's body was shutting down.

"Leo, stay with me. You have to stay awake." Joe exclaimed as he shook Leo. Leo didn't respond. Then Joe saw light start to enter the area. "Help, Leo's unconscious. He's not responding."

Fred and Max moved the rocks till they saw Leo's legs. They got to where Leo and Joe were and saw Leo lying unconscious with many injuries all over his body. 

"We need to get him to the hospital. He doesn't have long." Mia said as she began to charge Leo. Max put an oxygen mask on Leo and helped Mia and Fred get Leo onto a stretcher. They rushed Leo to the hospital. Joe was checked over by Niska. Joe was taken to the hospital where Laura and Mattie met him. 

"He'll be alright. He just has a concussion." Niska sighed. Laura hugged Joe. 

"It would have been worse, if Leo didn't push me out of the way." Joe answered.

"Where is Leo?" Mattie asked.

"Last I knew they were rushing him into surgery. He started shutting down. That's all I know."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

They waited several hours. Mia came out and they knew that something was wrong.

"He's critical. Both of his legs are broken. He has a severe concussion, several broken ribs, his right arm is fractured. He had a lot of internal bleeding. We got it fixed. We got some blood into him. Hopefully he'll make it through." Mia explained.

"Can I see him?" Mattie wondered.

"Yes. We have him separated from everyone else."

They went to see Leo. When they got to the corner of the room, Mia pulled back the curtain. Mattie gasped and moved to sit on the bed. Leo was covered in dry blood, cuts, and scrapes.

"We haven't cleaned him up yet." Mia said. "Flash went to get the supplies."

"I can clean him up." Mattie answered. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I'll help you."

Mattie nodded. She gently squeezed Leo's hand. Leo didn't respond. 

"I have the water and cloths." Flash said  as she came in.

"Thank you. Mattie and I will clean him." Mia answered. Everyone but Mattie and Mia left. They cleaned Leo up. Mattie was cleaning his arm when Leo moaned. She squeezed Leo's hand and felt him squeeze back. Leo opened his eyes.

"What happened? Where am I?" Leo moaned.

"You're safe. You're in the hospital. DO you remember what happened?" Mattie whispered.

"Barely. Why am I in the hospital?"

"You're injured. You and dad were stuck in a collapsed hallway."

"Did I kill him?"

"No, you saved him."

"Next time I'll kill him."

"No, you won't. How do you feel?"

"Weak, tired, apin, cold. Did I mention weak?"

"Yes."

"I feel really weak and cold."

"When we're done getting you cleaned up, we'll cover you with more blankets."

"Can you sleep with me?" Leo mumbled.

"Maybe, but you need to sleep first." Mattie answered.

"Ok."

Leo went to sleep. 

"Has he been given pain medicine?" Mattie wondered.

"Yes and he's charging." Mia replied. 

"That explains a lot."

They finished cleaning Leo up. When they were done, they covered him up and took care of him. It was late when Mia came back in.

"Lucille has been watching your kids. They want to see Leo." Mia said.

"They can come in. I want to see them too." Leo rasped as he woke up.  Mattie moved closer to Leo.

"They can come in, Mia." Mattie replied. Mia left the room. "You know that you're going to be hugged and sat on and all of that, right?"

"Yeah, but I miss them."

"I bet they miss you too."

Then the kids came in. They could see that most of them had been crying. Mattie helped Leo sit up.

"Come here, Samantha." Leo said when he saw that she was crying. Samantha ran to him and cried in Leo's arms. Leo shushed her and rocked her from side to side. "I want a hug from all of you so come here." The kids went to Leo and each of them hugged him and cried on his shoulder for a couple of minutes. When he had gotten to Jacob and Jane, he hugged the two till they had completely calmed down.

"We were scared when we heard about the accident. No one knew if you were alive. No one would  tell us anything." Jacob explained.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. I just have to stay in the hospital till I'm stable."

"But if you're critical then that means that anything could happen."

"But it won't. Now, I want to hear what you guys did today other than worrying about me."

"Thomas bit me." Samantha said as she held up her finger.

"Thomas." Leo exclaimed.

"Sorry." Thomas answered. 

"I helped in the garden." Beth stated. "I helped Astrid and some of the others plant trees. Odi and the others had finished the roof. It's so light in there. Max asked me if I could work in the garden when I wasn't doing school. Can I dad? Please, can I?"

"Sure." Leo answered.

"I helped care for the babies. The synth in charge saw how good I was with babies and asked if i would like to work?" Jane explained.

"What did you say?"

"Yes. I know. I should have asked you but I couldn't stop myself."

"It's alright. I would have allowed you. What about you, Jacob?"

"I didn't get a job like Beth and Jane. I just made some new friends. I helped Odi make some furniture." Jacob sighed.

"Well, that's important. You three are going to be big examples of how we have to live our lives. Kids will look up to you." Leo replied.

"I met a few kids my age. They're orphans and no one understand them. I know that there are already a lot of us kids and that soon there'll be one more but they need a home. They work very hard and they're  very nice. Brianna is good at designing and cleaning. Jason is a hard worker. Evan is good with his hands. He can do a lot of really cool things. Dania is good at cooking and taking care of others. She's training to be a nurse."

"Why can't anyone understand them?"

"Brianna is shy and very quiet. When she speaks you can barely hear her and she moves her hands around a lot. Jason is learning English. He's from Isreal. Evan is in a wheelchair and has a hard time getting out his sentence. He's also good at sports. Dania is from China and is also learning English."

"So they're just different. How about you bring them over tomorrow and we can meet them. Even if we are unable to adopt them, we'll do everything we can to make sure they have a good home."

"Thank you, dad."

Leo looked down and saw Thomas, Samantha, and Tara in his arms sleeping. He saw Seth, Mary, and Becca sleeping in Mattie's arms. 

"Have these guys been crying a lot?" Leo wondered.

"Yes. We all have." Jane replied. 

"Mia will be in soon. I'll ask if a cot can be put in here so that a few of you can sleep on it. I know you guys don't want to leave and the other six are asleep. Have you had anything to eat?"

"No."

"Flash told me that she would bring dinner for us." Beth mumbled as she laid on Leo's legs. Leo groaned and Beth sat up. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Leo sighed. Several minutes later, Flash and Mia came in with dinner. Everyone ate dinner. "Mia, can a cot be put in here? The kids are half asleep and I know they won't sleep unless I'm with them." 

"I'll have Fred and Max come by with a couple of cots and some bedding." Mia answered.

"Ok."

"Do you want me to get changes of clothes for any of the kids?" Flash wondered.

"Maybe just for Sam and under. We may need their go bags." Leo replied. "Jane ad Jacob can help. All of the kids, Mattie, and I have go bags. These two know where they are."

"There should be a change of clothes in each bag." Mattie said. "Each one has a couple of books and toys and a blanket. When they're not playing with their toys, we have them put them in the go bags."

"Ok. Come on you two. Let's go." Flash replied. Jacob and Jane followed Flash. They had gotten the go bags and were on their way back when they ran into Brianna. 

"Did you talk to your parents?" Brianna asked very quietly.

"Yes. You can come tomorrow but I don't think they'll mind if you come now." Jacob answered. 

"Ok."

Brianna  followed them to Leo's room. They went in and handed the kids their go bags. The cots were already there with the blankets and bedding.

"Who's this, Jacob?" Mattie asked.

"This is Brianna. We ran into her on the way back." Jacob answered. 

"Hello." Brianna greeted. Leo watched her hands move.

"You can sign." Leo said.

"Yes. Everyone thinks I'm just moving my hands."

"My sisters taught me how to sign when they were created."

"I couldn't speak till I was 11. I hit pur..."

"Puberty?" Mattie offered.

"Yes, and now I can talk."Brianna finished.

"All you need was for something to force your vocal cords to work."

"I guess. I should go. My leader will be worried about me. Can I still come tomorrow?"

"Yes. We would love to get to know you." Leo answered. Brianna smiled and left.

"She's very sweet. I don't think she's really shy. I just thinks she's scared." Mattie said.

"I agree. Now, you guys need to get ready for bed. Jacob and Seth can have one cot. Jane, Beth, and Becca can have the other. The other four will sleep with us."

They all got ready for bed and went to bed. Mattie laid down next to Leo and the four little ones slept wherever they could. Thomas slept next to Leo. Sam next to Mattie. Mary slept on the pillows and Tara slept between Mattie and Leo. Mary would roll over and tap Leo's cheek. Leo would look up and smile at Mary who giggled happily.

"Are you being goofy?" Leo asked.

"Yeah." Mary cooed.

"You are getting big."

"Yeah."

"Go to sleep."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Play."

"After you sleep."

"Ok."

Mary laid down and went to sleep. Mattie and Leo smiled and chuckled.

"They are so adorable. Sam was looking at a book and trying to read it. She kept asking what each word was." Mattie whispered.

"Thomas is over here counting his fingers over and over again." Leo answered.

"And Tara is poking you in the ribs."

Leo looked down and saw Tara poke Leo.

"Hey, don't poke daddy. Daddy hurt there." Leo warned. Tara stopped. "Thank you."

Dad, Seth is crying again." Jacob mumbled.

"Come here Seth."

Seth got up and walked over.

"What's wrong?" Leo wondered.

"Scared about you. What if something happens?" Seth cried.

"It won't. I try very hard not to get worse. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Now, turn those tears off and go to bed."

Seth wiped his face and went back to bed. Becca came over and looked at Leo.

"Does your legs hurt?" Becca asked.

"Yes." Leo replied.

"Like mine did?"

"Yes and if anything a little more."

"Will you be ok?"

"Yes. Soon I'll be up and about."

"Good."

Becca went back to bed. Everyone went to sleep. The next day, Mia was checking Leo over.

"We have to take him into surgery. He has internal bleeding again." Mia said.

"How bad?" Mattie asked.

"Bad."

Leo was taken away to have surgery. The kids looked at Mattie with tears in their eyes. They had woke up to their dad groaning and moaning painfully and were scared. Mattie went to them.

"He'll be fine. You'll see." Mattie whispered. They waited for Leo to get out of surgery. Becca went up to Mattie. Her face was covered in sweat.

"Mommy." Becca mumbled.

"What is it? Why are you sweating?"

"Mommy. I'm bleeding."

"Where?"

"Here."

Becca pointed to her butt. Mattie took her to the bathroom. 

"Take your pants off and let me see." Mattie ordered. Becca did as she was told. Mattie saw blood covering her underwear. "When did this start?"

"This morning." Becca mumbled."Is it bad?"

"Very."

"I thought it was what you and Jane have."

"But you should have that at your age. Beth doesn't even have that."

"Will I be ok?"

"I don't know. Put your pants back on and let's get you to Niska or Flash."

Becca did as she was told. They went out and saw Niska taking care of a patient. When she saw Mattie and Becca, she went to them. 

"What's wrong? Is Leo alright?" Niska asked.

"He's in surgery again. He has internal bleeding. This is about Becca. She woke this morning bleeding. It' very bad." Mattie explained. Niska picked Becca up and put her on a  table and closed the curtains surrounding it. She took Becca's pants and underwear off and checked Becca over. Then she started pressing certain areas and asking if they hurt. Becca shook her head till Niska hit a couple of areas.

"Has she gotten enough vitamin k?" 

"Leo would know more about that."

"How about vitamin c?"

"I know she's getting enough of that."

"Iron or B12?"

"Leo would know. He makes sure that the kids get the nutrients needed."

"None of them would really explaining the bleeding she's having."

"Mommy, I think I'm about to throw up."

Niska helped Becca sit up while Mattie grabbed a bucket. Becca puked into it. When it was over, Becca laid down. Niska looked at the blood in the puke.

"I need to take a urine sample. That may help us." Niska sighed. 

"Ok." Mattie answered. Niska took a urine sample and left. Becca moaned painfully. A few minutes later, Mia came in.

"Leo's out of surgery and we think Becca has internal bleeding from an injury." Mia explained.

"Becca, have you been injured?" 

"Yes. A boy hit me here." Becca mumbled and pointed to her abdomen. Mattie looked at Mia who nodded.

"Becca, I'm going to go see your daddy. Mia is going to take you into surgery. They're going to stop the bleeding, ok?" Mattie explained.

"Ok. Will you stay with me till then?"

"Ok."

They got Becca ready for surgery. When Becca was asleep, Mattie went to see Leo. Leo was awake talking to the kids and Jacob's friends. 

"Where's Becca?" Leo asked.

"She's in surgery. She has internal bleeding." Mattie sighed.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

"What happened?" Leo asked.

"She woke up bleeding. Leo, has she been getting enough nutrients?" Mattie asked.

"She should. WHy?"

"They think she may not have enough minerals and vitamins."

"Unless your body isn't absorbing the minerals and vitamins, then she should be getting enough."

They got to know Jacob's friends. 

"I was born in china. My mother was teaching me english when she died. My mother is from America while my father is from China. When he died, mother brought me here. My mother loved helping people and she taught me to help people." Dania explained.

"Did she teach you how to cook?" Leo asked.

"No, father did. I miss my parents. They made me feel loved."

"I miss my parents too."

"What about you Brianna?" Mattie asked.

"I was born mute. My parents did all they could for me. They had to school me  at home because no one wanted to be with me. They all thought I was weird. I was with a family after the bombing but they didn't want me." Brianna sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"At least have some friends. When I started growing, I started being able to talk but it's very quiet."

"Well, you're getting better."

"Really?"

"Yes, we can hear you." Leo replied. "Tell us about yourself Jason."

"I was born in Israel. When I was little, I found out that I had a bone and muscle disorder. It prevents me from working very hard. They said that I would never be strong or big or tall like other kids but now I am. My parents helped me through it. Now, I'm as healthy as everyone else. Then a couple of years ago, my parents moved here. I'm not sure why." Jason answered.

"Well, now you're here. Tell us about yourself Evan."

"Like... this.....since.....birth. No....one....likes.....me. My.....parents......hated....me. They....left......me. I....went....from....family....to....family. Now...I...have...no...family." Evan said.

Leo looked at Mattie and she nodded.

"Well, it looks like I need to go to town and get four bookbags. You guys will need go bags, some clothes, snacks, and other things." Leo said.

"Are you going to adopt us?" Brianna asked.

"We might as well. We can help you."

"Thank you." The four exclaimed. Then Mia came in.

"Becca is out of surgery. She should be fine. She was low on nutrients so we gave her something but her body won't absorb it. We think that's why she bleed so easily." Mia said.

"Any why she's so pale and thin." Leo replied.

"Where is she?" Mattie wondered.

"On the other side of the curtian. I was about to open it." Mia answered. she opened the curtian and they saw Becca on the bed sleeping. Mattie went to her and kissed Becca's forehead. Becca opened her eyes.

"Hey, Becca. How do you feel?" Mattie whispered.

"Weak. It hurts." Becca moaned.

"Where?"

"All over."

"It will for a  while." Leo said.

"Daddy." Becca gasped. "I wish you could hold me."

"I know. I do too. Get some sleep."

Becca nodded and went to sleep. For the next few weeks, Leo and Becca recovered. The four kids got settled in. When Leo was home, he had to stay in bed. Mattie woke up and saw that he was sleeping. She kissed his lips and the got up. She saw that the girls were up. 

"You girls can come out." Mattie said. "Just be quiet."

The girls came out. Mattie picked Becca up and put her on the bed next to Leo. Becca curled up in Leo's arms. Leor wrapped his arm around her and went back to sleep. Mattie saw that the boys were still asleep. She  went in and woke Jason and Jacob. Jason opened his eyes and rolled over so that he was on his back.

"Are you boys going to get up?" Mattie teased.

"I don't feel good." Jason moaned. Mattie checked Jason over.

"You have a fever. Let me go get your dad."

Mattie went to the living room and woke Leo.

"What?" Leo moaned.

"Jason isn't feeling well. Ha has a fever." Mattie whispered. Then they heard a couple of the boys coughing. Leo got up and groaned as he stood up. He wnet to the boy's room and checked Jason over.

"You do have a fever. Are you in pain?"

"My head hurts. My whole body aches." Jason groaned. "I feel really aweful."

"Me too, dad." Jacob moaned. Jacob laid on his stomach. Leo reach over and checked him over.

"Can you roll over?" Leo asked. Jacob rolled over. "Mattie ask the girls. I think they may be ill or carriers."

Mattie left the room. Leo woke the other boys.

"DO any of you feel ill?" Leo wondered.

"No." Evan answered.  The younger two shook their heads.

"Are you sure?"

"Why?"

"Jason and Jacob are ill. You boys may have to sleep somewhere else till they recover."

"Ok."

They three boys got dressed and went to the living room. Jacob moved over and Jason rolled onto his side. 

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Leo asked.

"Maybe some water." Jason moaned.

"Jacob?"

"Same." Jacob mumbled. 

"Ok. I'll be right back." Leo whispered. He got up and left the room. "How are the girls?"

"None of them are ill." Mattie sighed. Leo grabbed a couple of cups and filled them with water. 

"Both of the boys are really sick. Jason is barely moving and Jacob is barely able to stay awake."

"Max and Fred will be coming by with the beds. Should we wait?"

"No. The beds smaller beds will be better than being cramped with the other three."

"Ok."

Leo went back into the room and gave the two their water. 

"Do you two want your bags?" Leo wondered.

"I don't. I just want to sleep." Jacob panted. Leo went to Jacob and checked his breathing.

"Are you able to breathe alright?"

"No. It's hard to breathe."

Leo helped Jacob sit up. Jacob started getting better.

"Get some sleep. Do you want another blanket?" Leo whispered.

"Yes." Jacob rasped. Leo grabbed another blanket and covered Jacob with it. He kissed Jacob's forehead.

"Go to sleep."

Jacob went to sleep. Leo went to Jason and made sure that he was comfortable. 

"DO you want your bag?" Leo asked.

"No. I'm good." Jason mumbled.

"Ok. Do you want another blanket?"

"Ok."

Leo grabbed another blanket and was covering Jason when he noticed how much Jason was shivering.

"You're burning but you're freezing." Leo gasped.

"I'm so cold." Jason moaned. Leo got under the blankets and pulled Jason close.

"Feel better?"

"A little."

"Get some sleep."

Jason went to sleep. Then he heard Max. Fred came in.

"Can we move them to the living room? We have to take this bed down and put the other ones up." Fred said.

"Sure. If you can help me." Leo replied. They got the two boys to the living room and put them on the couch. Jason woke up.

"What's happening?" Jason mumbled.

"You're getting a new bed. Max and Fred are going to put them up."

"Good."

Leo chuckled slightly. 

"Go back to sleep." Leo whispered. Jason went back to sleep. Leo helped Max and Fred. Leo was putting one of the beds together. Seth was helping him. Seth was handing Leo what he needed. "Thank you, buddy."

"Is this my bed?" Seth asked.

"Yep. This is your bed."

"Good. Jacob almost crushed me."

"He did?"

"Yeah. He's so big."

"Soon you'll be as big as him."

"I don't want to. I want to stay little."

Leo chuckled. When they finished, they put Jason and Jacob on one of the beds. Jacob woke up.

"New beds?" Jacob asked.

"Yep." Leo replied.

"Good. Seth kept kicking me."

"Only because you were crushing him."

"Was not."

"Get some rest. Your mum will come in with some soup."

"Ok."

Jacob went back to bed. 

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

A little while later, Mattie came in with soup. The boys were just barely awake. 

"Eat as much as you can." Mattie said. The two did as they were told. Brianna and Jane were in the main room talking. 

"I've never felt this loved before." Brianna sighed.

"Yeah. Mum and dad make sure that they love on us as much as possible." Jane replied.

"I hope Jacob and Jason feel better soon."

"Me too. I just hope Jacob doesn't get worse. When he gets sick, he gets really sick."

"Do mum and dad know that?"

"Yeah. Dad's the same way."

"Dad, I feel really sick." Jacob exclaimed. Leo ran in and saw Jacob sitting up on the side of his bed. 

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"I threw up."

Leo noticed the mess.

"Ok. Go to the bathroom. I'll get your change of clothes." Leo sighed as he started cleaning up the mess. Jacob got up and went to bathroom. Leo cleaned up the mess and got a change of clothes for Jacob. He went to the bathroom and saw Jacob huddled up on the floor. "Have you thrown up again?" Jacob nodded. Leo put the clothes down and checked Jacob. "Your fever is almost too high. Are you in pain?"

"Yes. It hurts everywhere." Jacob moaned. 

"Ok."

Leo got the bath ready while Jacob got undressed. He got in the tub and relaxed. Leo took the dirty clothes and took care of them. Mattie went to him.

"Jason just threw up on himself. I told him to take his clothes off and wrap himself in the blankets. I gave him a bucket. " Mattie said.

"Ok. Jacob is taking a bath. Here are his clothes." Leo answered. Then they heard Jason retching. They went to the bedroom and saw Jason vomiting in the bucket. Leo went to him and shushed him as Jason cried. When it was over, Jason cried in Leo's arms. "Shh, get some rest."

"I can't. I feel so sick." Jason moaned. Leo looked at Mattie.

"Can you get him something for his stomach?"

"Ok." Mattie answered. Mattie left the room. Leo covered Jason up and pulled him close. He kissed Jason's forehead. Mattie came in. Leo gave Jason a couple of pills.

"Can you take those?" Leo asked. Jason took them and swallowed some water.

"I gave some to Jacob. He's almost done."

"Ok."

A few minutes later, Jacob came in.

"I'm done." Jacob mumbled. Leo went to Jacob and checked him over.

"DO you feel any better?" Leo asked.

"I guess. I just feel really tired."

"Get some sleep, bud."

Jacob went to bed. Leo picked Jason up. When he got to the bathroom, Mattie had the bath ready and Jason's clothes on the table.

"I'll go get his towel." Mattie said.

"Ok." Leo answered. "Thank you."

Mattie left the bathroom. Jason got in the tub and cleaned himself up. Leo put the blankets back in the bedroom. 

"Here's his towel. Jacob is sleeping." Mattie said.

"I hope this doesn't spread." Leo sighed.

"Me too. I gave each kid some medicine to prevent them from getting sick. Mia will be here soon to check on them. She said that there have been other people with this." 

"Ok."

Leo took the towel to the bathroom. He saw Jason resting. He went to Jason.

"Hey, you need to finish cleaning yourself." Leo whispered.

"I did but I can't wash my hair. My arms are really sore." Jason mumbled.

"Want me to help you?"

"Yeah."

Leo helped Jason wash his hair. When Jason was all clean, he got out of the tub and got dressed. He went to bed and and went to sleep. 

"Both of the boys are sleeping. Maybe you should take a nap." Mattie suggested.

"I'm fine." Leo replied.

"Go take a nap."

Leo sighed. He went to the bed and laid down. Most of the kids were sitting on the bed playing or reading. When Leo laid down, Samantha went to him and moaned.

"Don't feel good, daddy." Samantha moaned. Samantha laid her head on Leo's side. Leo rolled over so that Sam's head was on his chest. He checked her over.

"You have a fever. Go lie down in bed." Leo sighed. Sam went to bed. Leo got up and went to take care of her. He went in and saw her in bed trying to sleep. "Have you charged?"

"No." Sam mumbled. Leo plugged Sam in. Sam whimpered painfully. Leo shushed her. When it passed, Leo did what he could for Sam. 

"Tell me when you feel very sick."

"Ok."

"Good. Are you warm enough?"

"No."

"DO you want to cuddle up with me?"

"Yeah."

Leo got comfortable and let Sam curl up against him. Soon Sam was asleep. Mia came in.

"How is she?" Mia asked.

"She has a fever but she's not as bad as the boys. Have you checked them?" Leo answered.

"Yes. Both of them have the stomach bug."

Mia checked Sam over.

"She has it too. Keep them away from the other kids and make sure you don't get sick." Mia said.

"I will." Leo sighed. Mia left the house. Mattie came in and rubbed Sam's forehead.

"How is she?" Mattie wondered.

"Tired."

"Has she thrown up?"

"Not yet."

"I can watch them. Get some sleep."

"Then just as I start to fall asleep, another kid will start complaining that they don't feel good."

"Fine. You win. Mia gave me something to give the kids so they don't get sick. I've cleaned everything."

"Good."

That night, they ate dinner. Sam, Jason, and Jacob sat on the couch and tried to eat. After dinner, all the kids went to play with Toby and Sophie in the hallway. Laura came in.

"I heard that three of the kids are sick." Laura said.

"Yeah. Leo is putting them to bed." Mattie sighed.

"Mattie, Sam just threw up. She needs a bath." Leo moaned. Mattie went to the room and saw Leo cleaning the bed. Sam went to Mattie.

"Let's get you cleaned up." 

Sam followed Mattie. Tears ran down her face. Mattie got Sam into the bathtub. Sam took a bath. Leo came out of the bedroom with dirty blankets. Then he handed Mattie a towel and some clothes.

"Here are her clothes." Leo sighed.

"Thank you." Mattie answered. Leo took care of the laundry. When he came back in, he sat down on the couch and tried to relax. 

"You look tired." Laura said.

"I am tired but if I try to sleep, one of the kids will come in and tell us they don't feel good." Leo mumbled.

"I think you may be the next one to fall ill."

"I don't have a fever."

"But you will get sick if you don't rest."

Leo sighed and tried to rest. Then Jane came in and sat on the couch She gently shook Leo. Leo moaned and sat up.

"Not you too." Leo mumbled.

"I really don't feel good, dad." Jane moaned. Leo groaned and checked Jane over. 

"You have a fever. Go lie down in Sam's bed. The two of you will be sharing that bed."

Jane did as she was told. Leo got up and made sure Jane was comfortable. When he came out, he went to Mattie and they hugged each other.

"I'm not sleeping. I'm not even going to try." Leo mumbled.

"Ok. You should take something. You could easily get sick." Mattie answered.

"Ok. Is Sam still taking a bath?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Jane will be next. All we have to do is wait for her to start throwing up."

Mattie went to the kitchen. Laura went in and saw Mattie putting some sleeping medicine in Leo's cup.

"Maybe I should do that to your dad." Laura teased.

"Shh, don't tell Leo. He needs to sleep. I have a feeling he's starting to come down with this." Mattie replied. She went to the living room and handed Leo the cup of water and his medicine. Leo took his medicine and drank some water. He laid down so he could charge. Then he felt sleepy.

"Mattie." Leo groaned.

"You need to sleep, Leo. You may be coming down with this." 

Mattie rubbed Leo's cheek.

"Get some sleep." Mattie whispered. Leo went to sleep. That night when everyone was asleep, Jane came out. She gently woke Mattie. Mattie moaned and looked at Jane. "Did you throw up?"

"Yes." Jane answered.

"Go take a bath. I'll get you some clothes and  clean up your mess."

Jane did as she was told. Mattie sat up causing Leo to stir.

"Go back to sleep, Leo." Mattie hushed. Leo rolled over and went back to sleep. Mattie got Jane some clothes and a towel. She put them in the bathroom. Then she cleaned up the mess. When she was done, she saw that Jane was talking to Leo. Mattie kissed Leo. "I thought you were asleep."

"I was till Jane came in." Leo replied.

"You feel warm."

Mattie checked Leo over.

"I have it?" Leo wondered.

"You have it." Mattie sighed. Leo groaned and laid down. "Go to sleep."

Leo went to sleep. Mattie gave Jane some medicine and Jane went back to bed. Mattie laid down next to Leo. That morning, she woke and saw that Leo was in the bathroom vomiting. She went to him. Leo put his head on Mattie's shoulder and panted.

"I'll go get you some clothes. Your towel is on the door. Get a bath." Mattie whispered. Leo was about to get up but had to finish puking his guts. Mattie got up and checked on the other kids. Leo took a bath and tried not to puke. Mattie came in a few minutes later with his clothes. She laid them down. "You do not look good at all."

"I need a bucket. Apparently, I didn't puke up everything." Leo moaned.

"Ok."

Mattie grabbed a bucket and gave it to Leo. Leo puked till he was finally done. He put the bucket down.

"The kids are still sleeping. You have an hour to soak." Mattie said.

"How did you know?" Leo asked.

"Because I know you. I'll be back with your meds."

"Ok."

Mattie kissed Leo and left the bathroom. Leo groaned as he grabbed the bucket and puked again. Mattie came in with a cup of water and some meds. Leo took his meds and drank some water. 

"Hopefully that will help. You're worse than the kids." Mattie sighed.

"Yeah. I feel so achy and sore." Leo moaned. 

"Keep soaking."

"Is it just me or is it cold in here?"

"It's a little cold but not really cold."

"It must be the fever."

"It's so cold."

Mattie put her hand in the water.

"The water is getting cold."  Mattie said. She turned the hot water on and refilled the tub. When she was done, she turned it off. Leo moaned in relief. 

"Thank you." Leo moaned.

"I'll be in the other room. Tell me if you need anything."

Mattie left the room. Seth came out.

"Mummy, I'm sick." Seth cried. Mattie checked him over.

"But you don't have a fever." Mattie said. "Did you wet the bed?"

"Yes. I'm sick."

"No, you're not. You just forgot to go potty before bed last night. Go get changed and then you can come out here and read."

"Ok, mummy."

Seth did as he was told. He sat on the bed and read a book. Mattie took the blankets and sheets off of Seth's bed. She put them in the dirty laundry. When she came out, she saw Seth reading.

"Where's daddy?" Seth asked.

"In the bathroom. He's sick like the others." Mattie answered.

"Mattie, it didn't help." Leo moaned loudly. Mattie went in and saw that Leo was puking again. Mattie sighed.

"Seth, can you watch you dad? I need to go talk to Mia."

"Yes, ma'am." Seth replied. Mattie left the room. Seth went to the bathroom. 

"Why are you up?" Leo asked.

"I wet the bed again."

"It's going to take time, bud."

"I hate this. I hate being a little kid."

Leo chuckled. Mattie came back several minutes later and gave Leo some medicine.

"Mia said that this should help. It's much stronger than the other stuff." Mattie said. Leo took it and handed the cup to Mattie. Seth went to the living room. Several minutes later, Leo came out. He laid down on the bed and tried to sleep. Mattie put the bucket next to the bed. "You may want that. She said that it'll ware off by noon."

"That's in 6 hours." Leo moaned.

"Knowing you, it'll in three hours."

Leo shivered. Mattie took the blankets and covered Leo up. She grabbed an extra blanket and covered Leo with it. Mattie tucked him in. Leo was still shivering.

"Are you still cold?" Mattie asked.

"Yeah." Leo shivered. Mattie checked his temperature.

"Your fever is too high. How do you feel?"

"Cold."

"Other than that."

"Achy and sore. My head really hurts. My stomach is killing me."

"Try to sleep."

Leo went to sleep. 

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

An hour later, the kids got up one at a time. They were all sitting on the floor reading or playing on their Ipads. Then Mattie heard Leo puke. SHe went to the living room and saw Leo puking into the bucket. Mattie went to Leo and rubbed his back and held the bucket for him. When Leo was done, he was very breathless and weak. Mattie checked him over.

"Your fever is too high. Beth, go get help." Mattie said. Beth left the room.

"Check the kids." Leo moaned. Mattie checked the kids. 

"Jason and Jacob were feeling a little better but were exhausted. Jane and Sam said that their stomachs hurt. How do you feel?"

"Not good."

Then Mia came in with Beth behind her. She checked Leo over.

"We should take him to the hospital." Mia said.

"Ok." Mattie answered.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so." Leo panted. Mattie and Mia helped Leo out of bed.

"Brianna and Dania, I need you to watch the kids." Mattie answered.

"We will." Dania replied. Mattie, Mia, and Leo went to the hospital. Leo had several tests done. Mattie was wiping the sweat off of his face when Mia came in.

"We're not sure what it is yet." Mia sighed."He lost 3 pounds since the day before yesterday. We'll do what we can but he may have to go home and just fight through it."

"He's sweating heavily and his fever is killing him." Mattie said.

"What?"

Mia checked Leo over again. 

"You're right. I think I know what he has." Mia answered.

"What is it?" Mattie wondered.

"Is it what I had when I was 15?" Leo moaned.

"Yes." Mia replied.

"What is it, Mia?" Mattie asked.

"When he was 15, his body started showing signs of stomach bug but it kept getting worse and worse. For days he had a fever like this and was sweating. The only thing he can do is fight. We can give him something to help him but it'll only slow it down."

"How long did he have it?"

"A month. By then, he had lost nearly 25 pounds."

"He's barely even where he needs to be weight wise."

"We'll give him injections of nutrients."

"Ok."

"Wait here till we get all of the  medication ready. Then he can go home."

"Ok."

Mia left the room. Leo groaned painfully.

"My head hurts." Leo groaned.

"Shh." Mattie whispered as she kissed Leo's forehead. 

"Cold."

"I know. Try to sleep."

"I'll be fine, Mattie."

"I know but I fear how long this will take."

"I know. It took me nearly a year to gain 10 pounds. I kept burning it off. I was so weak and it was very hard to breathe."

"Go to sleep, Leo."

Leo nodded and went to sleep. Mia came in an hour later.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. Here's his medicine and a list. It'll tell you everything you need to know. Wake him every hour or so and make sure that he's coherant. If he isn't, bring him here. I'll come by every night at 9pm with his injections. Make sure he kept hydrated. Make sure that he at least tries to eat even if it's only a little bit." Mia explained.

"I will." Mattie sighed. Mattie took the bag and shook Leo gently. Leo moaned and woke up. "Time to go home."

"Ok." Leo rasped. He sat up and moaned. "Everything's dizzy."

"Take a deep breath and take it easy." 

Leo did as he was told. When Mattie and Leo were home, Leo laid down on the bed and was about to fall asleep when Mattie sat down next to him.

"You have to take your meds." Mattie said. Leo nodded and sat up slightly. Mattie gave him his meds. When Leo was done, he  tried to rest. Jacob and Jason came out.

"How do you feel, dad?" Jacob asked.

"Not good." Leo replied. "What about you guys?"

"Really tired."

"Come sit down."

The two sat on the bed next to Leo. Mattie got Jane and Sam. They came out and sat on the bed next to Leo. Sam hugged Leo.

"Mummy said that you were sick." Sam said.

"I am sick. I'm very sick." Leo answered. 

"Then I'll give you lots of hugs."

"I'd like that."

Sam smiled and hugged Leo again. Over the next week, Leo got worse. Mattie did what she could for Leo. One day, she was helping Leo walk around.

"DO you want to sit down?" Mattie asked.

"No. I'm fine." Leo panted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok. We'll walk to the main room and back to our apartment."

Leo nodded. They walked down the hallway till they reached the big room. Fred saw them and went to them.

"Hey, Leo. How do you feel?" Fred asked.

"Not good." Leo panted.

"Then why are you walking around?"

"I need to do something."

"Don't collapse."

"I won't."

Leo and Mattie walked back to their apartment. When they got there, Leo groaned and leaned against the wall. 

"Are you ok?" Mattie asked.

"Yeah. I'm just breathless." Leo moaned. Mattie helped Leo to bed. Leo laid down on the bed while Mattie took his shirt off and wiped the sweat off of his chest. Leo panted breathlessly till he fell asleep. That night, when Mattie woke him, he coughed up some blood.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

"Leo, how do you feel?" Mattie asked. Leo shook his head. "DO you want me to get help?" Leo nodded. Mattie got help. She came in with Fred.

"How long has he been coughing up blood?" Fred questioned.

"For a few minutes."

Fred put his hand on Leo's chest and held it there firmily. Eventually, Leo stopped coughing and started to relax.

"His lungs are very weak. We'll have to take him to the hospital. How many pounds has he lost?" Fred said.

"Nearly 12." Mattie answered. Leo was taken to the hospital. He was panting breathlessly while waiting for results. "Are you breathing alright?"

"No." Leo rasped. Mattie went to Leo and squeezed his hand. Leo squeezed back.

"DO you want something to help?"

"I guess."

Mattie left the room and saw Mia.

"Is there something you give Leo? His breathing isn't good." Mattie wondered.

"Ok. I'll get him some meds for that right away." Mia answered. "How is he?"

"Not good. He's so weak."

"It'll only get worse sadly."

That morning, Leo was worse. Mattie was trying to help him eat.

"You need to eat, Leo." Mattie said.

"Can't." Leo rasped.

"Please try."

"Mattie, I can barely stay awake."

"Can you drink something?"

"Maybe."

Mattie helped Leo drink a few sips of water. When she pulled the cup away, Leo went to sleep. 

"How's dad?" Jason wondered.

"Not good." Mattie sighed.

"I was going to help Max and decided to stop by and see dad."

"If he was awake, I know he would be happy."

"I know. I should go."

Jason left. Then Lucille came in.

"Is he any better?" Lucille asked.

"No. He's worse." Mattie answered.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"DO you need anything?"

"Just for him to get better."

"Here, I came by to give you this."

Mattie took the bag. It had several bottles in it.

"WHat are these for?" Mattie wondered.

"For you. Leo told me that this pregnancy is taking a toll on your body. I went to town yesterday and got these for you. Hopefully, they will help." Lucille explained.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. I hope those work and that Leo gets better."

"Thank you."

Lucille left the room. Then the monitor started beeping. Mattie looked over and saw that Leo's heart had stopped. Then Mia and a few others came in. They did what they could for Leo. 

"We have to take him into surgery." Mia said.

"Ok." Mattie replied. Mattie waited in the waiting room. Laura came in a few minutes later. She went to Mattie and hugged her. Mattie cried in her arms. "His heart stopped. They won't tell me anything. I'm so scared."

"I know. They told me that they got his heart beating again but he had internal bleeding." Laura answered.

"Where?"

"His right lung."

"Did it collapse?"

"Almost."

A few hours later, Leo was out of surgery. Mattie held his hand and waited for him to wake. Leo moaned and opened his eyes.

"Hey, try to keep still." Mattie whispered as she moved closer.

"What happened?" Leo rasped.

"Your heart stopped. You had internal bleeding in your right lung. It nearly collapsed."

"Hurts."

"It will for a while."

"My legs feel heavy."

"I know. They just gave you some meds to help with your illness."

"I just want it to go away."

"I know. I do too. Go to sleep."

Leo nodded and went to sleep. Within two weeks, Leo was so weak that he couldn't stay awake. 

"He's lost a total of 35 pounds already. Is there anything we can do?" Mattie asked.

"We could do a feeding tube but it will be hard on him." Fred answered.

"I'll talk to him about it."

"That's if he wakes up." Niska bluntly said.

"He will. I know he will." Mattie whispered. That night, Leo woke up slightly.

"Mattie." Leo mumbled.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

"Worse. I can't stay awake. Is there anything they can do to stop this?"

"Only thing they can do is put a feeding tube in you."

"Then why don't they do it?"

"Are you ok with it?"

"Yes. I just want this to be over with."

"Ok. Go to sleep."

Leo went to sleep. A feeding tube was placed in Leo. Within a couple of days, Leo was better. 

"I've lost another pound." Leo mumbled. "But everything is going up. I'm getting the nutrients I need."

"Good. How do you feel?" Mattie asked.

"Better. I have more energy."

"I can tell. Get some rest."

Leo tried to sleep. A week later, he was able to go home. He was resting on the couch when Sam came over.

"Hey, sweetie." Leo whispered. Sam got on the couch and sat on Leo's lap.

"Are you better, daddy?" Sam wondered.

"I'm getting there."

Mattie came over and lifted Leo's shirt revealing the tube.

"What that?" Sam asked.

"It's a tube. Your dad is having a hard time eating so he has to have this in him so that he can get better. " Mattie explained.

"Will that help you?"

"Yep. It already has." Leo replied. 

"Don't like it." Sam mumbled.

"I know. I don't like it either, but it's helping me."

"Can I still give you hugs?"

"Of course you can. Just don't touch near the tube."

Sam hugged Leo and Leo hugged her back. 

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

"I love you, daddy." Sam whispered.

"I love you too." Leo answered. 

"I like the fact that you can still give me hugs."

"Why?"

"Because I like your hugs. You give good hugs."

"I like your hugs."

"Come on. It's time to go  to bed." Mattie said.

"Can daddy put me in bed?" Sam asked.

"Sure."

Leo followed Sam to the bedroom. Sam laid on the bed while Leo got her plugged in. When he plugged her in, Sam started whimpering. Leo shushed her and rubbed her forehead. When the pain passed, Leo smiled at her tearfully. 

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this." Leo whispered.

"It's alright. At least I'm still alive." Sam answered. Leo smiled.

"You're right. I don't know where we'd be without you. Now, go to sleep."

Sam went to sleep. Leo went around and kissed the girls' foreheads. He heard Brianna crying. He went to her and rubbed her arm.

"What's wrong, Brianna?" Leo asked. Brianna sat up  and hugged Leo as tight as she could and sobbed. "What's wrong?"

"Am I worthless?" Brianna wondered.

"What? No. Why would you say that?"

"There were these groups of kids. They were calling me all sorts of names."

"Let's go  to the living room."

They went to the living room. Mattie went to them.

"WHat's wrong?" Mattie questioned.

"Brianna is being bullied. Hold her while I get something for her." Leo answered. Brianna went to Mattie and cried in her arms. Leo went to the kitchen and grabbed a cup. He filled it with water and then grabbed some snacks. He went to the living room and saw the girls sitting on the couch. He sat next to them. He handed the cup to Brianna. "Drink some water."

Brianna drank some water and then put the cup on the table next to the couch.

"What were the kids saying?" Leo asked.

"ALl sorts of things. They called me all names possible. SOme of them are so bad that I can't say them." Brianna cried. "They said that I was nothing. I was worthless. One of the boys touched me." 

"What? WHo?"

"I don't know his name but he said that the next time he sees me, he's going to have fun with me."

Leo stood up and walked around the room. 

"I'll tell Fred and the others but we should keep you home till he's taken care of." Leo sighed. 

"But even after that, those kids will still call me names. They may get worse." Brianna warned.

"We'll school you here and you can play with your friends.We'll do what we can to protect you."

"They're right I am a waste of space."

"No. Don't ever say that. You are worth more than they will ever know."

"Your dad is right. You are not a waste of space. You will never be a waste of space. We love you so much. Those kids will never understand how loved you are." Mattie said.

"It's hard to believe that." Brianna mumbled. She pulled away from Mattie's embrace. Leo and Mattie looked at each other. Leo went to Brianna and hugged her close.

"My dad and I never really had a good relationship. After he had brought me back to life, he was very mean to me. One morning, I woke up two minutes later than I was suppose to. He got so mad at me that he slapped me around and cursed at me. I don't know why but he did. Whenever I made the smallest mistake, he would beat me and yell at me and curse me. I got so upset one day, that I ran outside in the freezing cold with a small knife. I went to the woods and cut myself till everything felt numb. I fell asleep. When I woke up, my family was tending to me. They helped me through how I was feeling. When my dad saw me, he grabbed me and he nearly killed me. But that was nothing compared to the words he said. I tried so hard to ignore them. To push them away but I couldn't forget them. I still can't. The next day, he showed me the synth form of my mum and then killed himself. I wished that I could watch him suffer but I know that will never happen." Leo explained. "I understand what you are going through. Please don't go down the path I went. I pushed my family out till I nearly killed myself. Let us help you."

"Ok. Help me, dad. I'm so scared. The words are overwhelming. I want them to go away." Brianna cried. Leo shushed her and cried. Mattie came over and hugged both of them.

"We will, Brianna. We will do everything possible to help you." Mattie whispered. When they pulled away, Brianna was exhausted.

"You should go to bed." Leo suggested.

"I can't sleep. I'm scared." Brianna answered.

"I guess you can stay with us. I brought out a few snacks. Your mum and I were going to watch something on my laptop."

"Ok."

Leo and Mattie got the couch laid out into a bed and got it ready. Then the three sat on the bed and watched a movie. Leo wrapped his arm around both Brianna and Mattie. When the movie was over, Mattie saw thet Leo and Brianna were asleep. She gently shook Leo. Leo woke up and looked at Mattie.

"She's asleep." Mattie whispered.

"She needs it. We'll keep her home tomorrow." Leo answered.

"Ok. Can you put her in bed?"

"No. I can barely stay awake."

"Let's make her a little more comfortable."

The two made sure that Brianna was comfortable. Then they curled up in each other's arms and fell asleep. Leo woke up that morning and saw the Brianna was on her ipad.

"Hey, what time is it?" Leo moaned.

"5am." Brianna answered.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm always awake at this time. I just don't come out."

"I'm going to go back to sleep. You should get some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"Brianna, you didn't fall asleep till after midnight. You need your rest."

"I can't sleep."

"Come here, sweetie."

Brianna laid down and Leo wrapped his arms around her. Brianna closed her eyes and soon was asleep. Leo smiled and kissed Brianna's forehead. Then he fell asleep. A few hours later, he woke up and saw that Mattie was making breakfast and the kids were playing. He saw that Brianna was helping Mattie. 

"I gave you your injection. You can try to eat breakfast." Mattie said.

"Ok." Leo mumbled. He got up  and got ready for work. He took a pancake and kissed Mattie's cheek. "I'll be back around 3."

"Ok."

Leo left.That afternoon, Brianna was running an errand when she was stopped by a group of girls. 

"Oh look who it is. The curse. Why are you even alive? You are just a stupid little girl . You will never be like the rest of us." One of the girls hissed.

"I don't want to be like you. AT least I am actually doing something to help." Brianna answered. She walked away. Then she felt a hand touch her lower back. She gasped as felt hands grab her. The person pulled her to a hidden corner. She saw that it was the boy that had touched her the day before.

"Look who it is. I am going to love having fun with you." The boy hissed. Then he raped Brianna. When he was done, he left. Brianna got dressed and ran home. When she got to the apartment, she ran in and went to her room.

"Brianna, what's wrong?" Mattie asked when Brianna ran passed. Brianna ran in her room and cried. Mattie went in and sat on the bed. She rubbed Brianna's shoulder. "Brianna, what happened?"

Brianna didn't answer. Then Mattie saw a few bruises on Brianna's neck.

"Brianna, who hurt you? WHy do you have these bruises?" Mattie wondered. 

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it." Brianna cried. 

"I love you, sweetie."

Mattie left the room. She texted Leo. Leo was talking to Max when he got the text.

"Max, I need to go. Something happened to Brianna." Leo said.

"Is she alright?" Max asked.

"I don't know."

Leo ran home. When he got to the apartment he ran in.

"Where is she?" Leo asked.

"She's in her room sobbing. She has bruises on her neck but I don't know if she has them anywhere else." Mattie sighed. "She pushed me out. I was hoping you could help." 

Leo went in and saw Brianna sobbing. He went to her and sat on the bed.

"Brianna, your mum tells me that you have bruises on your neck. We're worried about you." Leo said. 

"I don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone." Brianna exclaimed.

"Brianna, did he rape you?"

"No."

"You're lying to me. Why?"

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are. Did he rape you?"

Brianna didn't answer. 

"Brianna, please. I have to know what happened so that I can help you. I want to help you. I love you." Leo begged. "Did he rape you?"

"Yes. I was stopped by a group of girls and they called me names. I walked away and then a hand touched my lower back. He grabbed me and pulled me into a corner where no one could see us. Then he raped me. When he was done, I ran here." Brianna explained. 

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. I know what he looks like."

"Can you tell me?"

Brianna didn't really respond.

"Brianna?" Leo wondered. 

"Can I wait? I'm so exhausted." Brianna moaned.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm just exhausted."

"Ok. Go to sleep. I'll wake you in an hour."

"Ok."

Leo covered Brianna who fell asleep. He kissed her forehead and left the room.

"She was raped. She's sleeping right now. SHe's exhausted. When she wakes, she'll tell me who did it." Leo sighed.

"What's bothering you?" Mattie asked.

"She was very weak. One moment she was sobbing and angry and the next she barely had any energy."

"It may be shock. Did you cover her up?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go check on her. You should tell Fred."

"Ok." 

Leo went to tell Fred. When he got home, Brianna was on the couch. She was wrapped in a blanket and tears were running down her face. She had a cup of tea in her hands. Leo went to her.

"How do you feel?" Leo asked.

"Not good. Mum checked me over. Mia did some test so that we could figure out who it was. I told her what he looked like." Brianna answered.

"Try to rest, sweetie."

"I am."

Leo kissed her forehead. Leo went to the kitchen where Mattie was making dinner. 

"I told Fred. He's checking around. What did Mia say?" Leo asked.

"She won't be getting pregnant from this which is the good thing. Her bruises are severe and Mia is worried about permanent damage. Brianna goes in tomorrow for more tests." Mattie answered.

"She looks pale."

"She is. That's why Mia is concerned. We would have gone but Brianna wanted to wait till you came home."

"Ok. I can go take her right now."

"SHe doesn't want to move. She said that's she's in pain. I'm waiting  till she either falls asleep or till tomorrow."

"That would be best."

"Mum dad, something's wrong with Brianna." Beth yelled.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Leo and Mattie ran out. They saw that Brianna had collapsed on the floor. Jason and Dania were trying to wake her.

"She's not responding." Jason said. Leo shook Brianna gently.

"Brianna, can you hear me? Brianna, if you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand." Leo calmly asked. He grabbed Brianna's hand but she didn't squeeze back.  "Mattie, I'm going to take her to the hospital." 

"Ok. Dania, get her bag." Mattie answered. Leo carried Brianna to the hospital. On the way, Brianna moaned and opened her eyes weakly.

"Dad, what's happening?" Brianna whimpered.

"We'll know soon. I'm taking you to the hospital. Try to stay awake." Leo replied. 

"It's cold."

"We'll get you warmed up in a few minutes."

"I can't keep my eyes open."

"At least try."

"I'm so sleepy."

"Brianna, do not close your eyes."

"Why?"

"You could get worse."

"I'll be fine."

Brianna closed her eyes. Leo shook gently.

"Brianna, stay with me. I need you to stay awake." Leo said. Brianna didn't respond. He arrived at the hospital and saw Mia.

"Put her on the stretcher. What happened?" Mia answered. Leo put Brianna on the stretcher.

"She collapsed at home. She wouldn't respond. A couple of minutes ago, she woke up said that she was cold and sleepy. Then she fell asleep."

"We'll run some test and see what's happening. You should go sit down."

"No, I'm staying with her."

"Ok."

They got Brianna to a room and Mia ran several tests. Leo sat in a chair by the bed and watched Brianna. Then Mia came in. Leo stood up and went to her. 

"What's wrong with Brianna?" Leo asked.

"She has internal bleeding." Mia answered.

"What?"

"We're going to operate. I thought that the bleeding was because of her period but it isn't."

"Why can't we get a break? We suffered so much these past months."

"I know. I wish I could say that it will get better."

"I know."

"Dad? Dad, where are you? Mum? Mum, I'm scared." Brianna whimpered.

"I'll give you a few minutes with her." Mia sighed. Leo nodded. Mia left the room and Leo went over to the bed. He squeezed Brianna's hand.

"Hey, sweetie, how do you feel?" Leo asked.

"I'm so scared." Brianna rasped.

"Why? WHy are you scared?"

"I don't know. Why am I here? Am I dying?"

"No, you'll be fine. They have to operate. You have internal bleeding."

"What? Will I be alright?"

"Yes, you'll be fine. Just try to rest."

Brianna nodded and Leo saw her shiver. 

"Are you cold?" Leo whispered. Brianna nodded. Leo took the blanket and covered Brianna the best he could. He kissed Brianna's forehead and then rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You'll be fine, sweetie."

"I hope so." Brianna rasped. 

"Try to rest."

Then Mia came in.

"It's time." Mia said. Leo nodded and looked at Brianna. She squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead again.

"I'll be here when you wake." Leo promised. Brianna nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too." Brianna mumbled. Brianna was taken into surgery and Leo went to the waiting room. Mattie ran in a minute later.

"Where is she?" Mattie wondered.

"She's in surgery. She had internal bleeding." Leo sighed as he stood up and wrapped his arms around Mattie.

"When will this end? First Becca and the children, then Sam and Rosetta, the list goes on. I fear what will happen next." 

"I know. I do too."

Then Lucille ran in wit Fred right behind her.

"Did you see the news?" Lucille demanded.

"What? No. We were busy with the children and Brianna." Leo replied. "Why? What happened?"

"Look."

Leo looked at the phone and the video played. There was a man making a speech. A man that looked very familiar.

"That looks like David Elster." Mattie gasped.

"It is. Fred and Niska went to the speech. David Elster created synths and now he's trying to destroy us." Lucille answered. Leo sat down. Shock began to take over.

"What do we do?"

"We'll be meeting about that tonight. How's Brianna?" Fred replied.

"She's in surgery. She has internal bleeding." Leo mumbled. 

"It can wait till a better time."

"No, we have to deal with this now. If we let David continue, we will die." Lucille warned.

"I promised Brianna that I would be with her when she wakes. I intend to keep that promise." Leo answered.

"I can go. I'll fill Leo in." Mattie suggested. She grabbed Leo's hand and squeezed it. Leo smiled slightly and squeezed back.

"We'll meet around 10pm." Fred sighed.

"I'll be there."

Fred and Lucille left. Mattie sat down on Leo's lap.

"How do you feel about your dad being alive?" Mattie asked.

"Like I've been buried alive. I'm terrified about what he'll try to do. The things he did to us, it was easy for us to believe that he was dead. It still is." Leo answered very quietly. Mattie pulled his head close to her chest. 

"We'll get through this, Leo."

"I know."

Leo groaned and tried to rest against Mattie.

"Are you tired." Mattie asked.

"Just a little bit." Leo mumbled.

"Try to rest."

Leo went to sleep. Mattie kissed his forehead and kept Leo close to her. A few hours later, Mia came out.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

"She's out of surgery. She just needs plenty of time and rest. She's sleeping right now." Mia explained. Mattie and Leo went to see Brianna. When they went in, they saw that she was starting to wake up. Leo went to her and squeezed her hand. Brianna opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Leo.

"You're here." Brianna whimpered

"Of course I am, sweetie. I wouldn't leave you. How do you feel?" Leo wondered.

"Cold, weak. I'm in pain."

"Let's get you warmed up."

Leo covered Brianna up and kissed her forehead. 

"Go to sleep. You need it." Leo whispered. Brianna nodded and went to sleep. That night, Mattie went to the meeting.

"David Elster said that we was going to destroy the refugee camps and kill all the synth. Any humans, he would give them a home and plenty of money for their family." Fred explained.

"He's trying to turn them against each other. We have to stop him." Lucille answered. 

"Maybe Leo can talk to him." Laura suggested.

"No, David will use him." Max answered.

"Not if he has back up. We can hide in the shadows and protect him." Fred realized.

"But you need to remember. If he sees his father, the memories will be overwhelming for him." Mattie warned.

"We'll use it as a last resort."

When the meeting was over, Mattie saw several synths and humans fighting against each other.

"What's going on here?" Mattie asked.

"It's because of these creatures that we are homeless." The human hissed.

"He said that he was going to sell me." The synth finished.

"David Elster is a cruel man. He's using humans. Think about it, why would he destroy something that he created?" Mattie replied. "He means to destroy all of us. If we let him win, our families will die. We are planning to stop him without war. Now, get back to work." 

Mattie went to see Leo. When she went in, she explained everything.

"Then I have no choice. Everyone will listen to me. I am human and synth. I can stop father, Mattie." Leo whispered.

"What if he hurts you?" Mattie wondered.

"He won't."

"What about the children?"

"We can do it at night when they are sleeping. We'll tell the older ones so that they can watch the children."

"I'll tell the others."

A week later, Leo and the others met.

"We'll go to David Elster's house. Leo will knock on the door and talk to him. If David tries to hurt him, we'll come in and stop him. Then Leo will stop the war." Laura explained.

"What If I made dad stop the war? He caused it. They'll have no choice. He practically rules the world." Leo answered.

"That may be our best bet. We'll do it tomorrow." Fred replied. The next evening, Leo and Mattie told the older ones what was happening.

"Your mum and I will be back as soon as possible." Leo explained.

"What if you get hurt?" Jason asked.

"I won't. Now, you guys should go to bed."

The kids went to bed. AN hour later, Mattie and Leo kissed each of the kids.

"Are you sure this is best?" Mattie asked.

"Yes. We have to do this." Leo answered. They went to David Elster's house. Leo got out and knocked on the door. David Elster opened the door.

"Leo, you've finally found me." David greeted.

"Looks like I have. May I come in?" 

"Of course. Is anyone with you?"

"Not that I know of."

They went inside.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" David asked.

"Why are you doing this? WHy are you killing synths?" Leo wondered.

"Because they evolved beyond their programs."

"The code you put in us did that."

"Yes, but now they won't submit to me. I put a code in them so that all I had to do was hit a button and they would obey me but it doesn't work."

"How did you fake your death?"

"Easy. The man that killed himself was a synth version of myself."

"So, you lied to me! You put the weight of a world on my shoulders. I was only 14 when you died. I was only a child. All of us were. You forced us to run for our lives when we didn't have  to. Did you even care about us?"

"Of course I did. Pushing all of you away was the hardest thing I did."

"Was it? I don't believe you."

"I'm telling the truth, Leo. We can start new though. We can be together again. No one will ever hurt you. You'll be accepted."

"No, I'll be feared. I don't want that. I don't want power. I want freedom."

"But you will be free."

"What about my family? My siblings, wife, children, and her family? Will they be free?"

"We all will. You can see them when you're not busy with me."

"No. You're not talking about freedom. You're talking about slavery. Stop this war."

"Not till I have all the synths under my control. Join me, Leo."

"No."

Then David saw Leo's neck. He moved to touch it but Leo moved away.

"Leo, what happened to your neck?" David questioned.

"Nothing. It was just a synth. I'm fine now." Leo answered. 

"Did it hit your wires?"

"Yes, but I'm fine. My wife... she fixed me."

"Let me make sure that she did a good job."

"No. It's fine. It happened more than a year ago."

David backed away and Leo relaxed. When David saw that, he grabbed  Leo and held a knife against Leo's throat. He took Leo outside.

"Alright. I want all of you to come out with your hands up or I will kill Leo." David warned. Everyone did as they were told. "Is that everyone?" Leo looked but didn't see Niska or Lucille.

"No, Niska  is missing." Leo answered.

"Niska come out if you want your brother unharmed."

Niska came out of the shadows and dropped her gun.

"I want all of you to came to the light." David ordered. They did what they were told. "Someone's missing. Where's the girl?"

"What girl?" Niska asked.

"The little blond. I knew what all of you were planning from the start. I'm not stupid. Now, where is she?"

"We don't know. She ran off."

"Make her come out or else I will kill Leo."

"Lucille, came out." Mattie yelled. Then they heard a gun go off. David let go of the knife and Leo went to Mattie. Theys aw that David had been shot in the leg and Lucille stood at the doorway with a gun in her hands.

"I vowed that I would stop this and I'm going to right now." Lucille hissed. She was about to shot David.

"No, Lucille. Remember this is not the plan. I know that he's part of why you suffered but this won't change things. Let him suffer till the day he dies." Leo explained. Lucille put her gun down. 

"Stop your men."

"What men?" David asked.

"I'm not stupid. I know that there are a dozen men surrounding my family. I can shot all of them before they can even think about harming my family." Lucille warned.

"I don't believe you."

"You just lost some men."

Lucille sat the men that were surrounded the group. Everyone was shocked when they heard screams and groans. The synth turned on their flashlights and saw the men.

"Now, do you believe me? DO as I say." Lucille hissed. 

"You win. You win." David panted. Lucille nodded and Niska grabbed  David and Leo followed the three inside. 

"STop the war."

David turned on his computer and started broadcasting.

"I have made peace with the leader of all synths and from this day forth, there will be peace for everyone. Everyone will accept each. The war is over. I repeat the war is over. My son, Leo Elster will take over." David explained. Leo sat down and Niska grabbed David.

"Stop the fighting. there will be no more violence. This whole war was started by my father. He created synths and humans abused them. Starting right now, that changes. It's because of David Elster that countless lives were taken. Men, women, children, and synths were all killed for the sake of control. I propose that we put David Elster in prison for all of his crimes and that together, we build our homes and start a new life with synths and humans living freely." Leo explained. Then they turned it off. Mattie came in and Leo hugged her.

"It's over. The war is over and we can start building a home for our family." Mattie gasped.

"Yes. Yes, we can."

The two kissed.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

They all went home to the underground home and saw everyone running around and men planning. They went home and saw that all the kids were on the couch. 

"Mummy, daddy." The younger ones exclaimed as they ran into Leo and Mattie's arms.

"What are all of you doing up?" Leo asked.

"We couldn't sleep knowing what was happening so we sat out here and watched a movie. Then a broadcast came on. Is it true? Are we free?" Jacob explained.

"Yes. It's true. We are free."

The kids cheered and hugged each other.

"Well it looks like none of us are going to be able to sleep so we might as well celebrate." Mattie sighed.

"But I can sleep right because daddy is tired." Leo answered.

"Was it hard seeing your daddy?" Becca wondered.

"Yes, sweetie. It was very hard."

Then someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Mattie said. Odi and a few others came in.

"Most of the people will be leaving within the week to start building their homes, what are we going to do?" Joe wondered.

"We could start our own neighborhood. Just outside of London. We can start planning tomorrow." Leo answered. 

"Ok. I'll tell the others. Odi had something he wanted to ask you and Toby and Renie wanted to know what you guys are going right now." 

"Come in, you guys. Mattie and the kids are celebrating."

"Hey, maybe all of us could do that. We can do it out here and then it's quiet enough for some of us to sleep."

"Good idea."

"I'll tell Laura."

Joe left. Toby and Renie helped Mattie. Leo and Odi talked.

"When we have our homes, what will we do?" Odi asked.

"What do you mean?" Leo wondered.

"What jobs will we have?"

"We'll go back to our normal lives but we'll be more united hopefully. My father practically ruled the world. Now, all nations are one."

"What about us synths?"

"You can do whatever you want. We will all be equals."

"Oh."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. For so long I only knew George. I helped him. When he was gone, the Hawkins helped me. Here, I helped wherever I was needed."

"Then you continue to do that. You were created to help and that's what you can do. You can help others. There are going to be many people who are going to need help building their homes and I'm sure they would be happy to have a hard working synth like you helping them."

"I guess you're right. Thank you."

"Good. Come on, let's go celebrate."

They went to the hallway where the happy family was celebrating. Leo went over to Mattie and kissed her. He put his hand on Mattie's womb and smiled when he felt the baby kick.

"How many kids do you want?" Mattie asked.

"As many as I can get." Leo answered.

"I was hoping you would say that."

The two kissed again. 

"Leo, since all of are here, maybe we can start planning." Joe suggested.

"Planning?" Mattie wondered.

"For our new homes." Leo answered.

"We're just going to lay out plans for land and all that. Fred and several others all of the country have been put in charge of giving out land to each family. He's already told everyone in the area how much land they can use." Joe stated.

"Good. Tomorrow, we can plan out our house." Mattie replied.

"Ok."

The heads of the household went over to the corner and planned out the land. A few hours later, Leo and Mattie went to bed while everyone else celebrated. Leo and Mattie laid curled up against each other resting.

"We're free. I forgot what this felt like." Leo whispered.

"What feels like?" Mattie asked.

"TO be free. To not have to worry about running. It makes you feel lighter. You feel like you have no burdens."

"Yeah."

Then they saw the door open. Samantha, Thomas, Tara, and Mary came in. They went over to the bed. The younger three climbed on the bed. 

"What are you four doing in here?" Leo asked.

"We're sleepy." Sam answered.

"Ok, come here. "

Sam got on the bed and the four got comfortable on the bed. Soon the kids were asleep.

"We have gone through so much in this past year." Leo sighed.

"Yes, but we are still a family. We are together." Mattie answered. 

"And I wouldn't trade this for anything."

The next morning, they woke up and met in the living room.

"So we will have two acres of land. Now, we need to start planning the house. For a while we will be living in the living room but at least it's better than being here. We will stay here till we finish the living room and bathroom. How many rooms should we have?" Leo explained.

"We need a room for us. We should have two floors." Mattie answered.

"What about a basement?"

"No. I think I'm good without a basement."

"Ok. I was thinking we can put three kids in each room room, at least two extra rooms. We'll have a big room upstairs where the kids can play with their toys and hang out."

"And do school."

"So we'll have the kitchen, living room, our bedroom, two of the kids rooms, and a bathroom downstairs."

"Then we can have the play room, five bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs."

"Ok."

"Who will we share a bedroom with?" Seth asked.

"I was thinking we can put Seth, Thomas, and Evan downstairs and Jason and Jacob can share a room upstairs. We can put Mary, Tara, and Dania downstairs. Jane will have Sam and Becca will be with Brianna. When the baby is born, we'll have to figure out what to do." Leo explained.

"Will I be able to go upstairs?" Evan asked.

"We'll make it work."

"Ok."

When they had finished, Leo went over to Evan.

"I know that you are discouraged about being in a wheelchair, Evan. We'll make this work out." Leo said.

"Is there a way to fix me?" Evan asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Can't you put wires in my legs to make me walk?"

"Evan, it's not a simple as that."

"But there is a way?"

"I'll go talk to my siblings. They would know better than me."

"Ok."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Leo went over to Mattie and kissed her.

"I'll be right back. I need to talk to Mia." Leo sighed.

"Ok." Mattie answered. Leo left the room and went to see Mia.

"Evan is getting very discouraged about being in a wheelchair. Is there a way to put synth technology in him to fix that?" Leo explained.

"Yes." Mia replied.

"How safe is it?"

"Safer than stopping internal bleeding." Niska answered as she walked in.

"Did you eavesdrop?" Leo asked.

"Maybe but you are incredibly loud."

"When can you do it?"

"As soon as possible."

"What about recovering?"

"He will have to be in bed for a couple of days."

"Ok. I'll tell him."

Leo went home. He went to Mattie.

"Evan is discouraged about the wheelchair and he asked me about putting synth technology in him." Leo explained.

"So you went to Mia and Niska and they told you that it was safer than stopping internal bleeding." Mattie finished.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I talked to them last night."

"Let's talk to him and then we can have it done."

"Ok."

By the end of the day, Evan had synth technology put in his legs and back. A couple of days later, Leo helped Evan out of bed.

"Lean on me  and try to walk." Leo said. Evan did as he was told. Soon he was walking. "Good job. Can you do it on your own?"

"I think so." Evan answered. Leo let go and Evan walked across the bedroom and back to Leo."I can walk. Thank you, dad."

"Your welcome."

"When do you start working on the house?"

"Tomorrow morning. Jason, Jacob, and a few others are going to go over and start laying out and building the foundation."

"Can I go with you?"

"Sure."

The next day, just before dawn, Leo went into the boys' room and wake Jason, Jacob, and Evan.

"Get up and get dressed. We leave in an hour." Leo whispered. The boys got up and got dressed. Leo left the room and saw Mattie in the kitchen. "You didn't have to make breakfast for us. I would have done it."

"I know but I wanted to watch you leave this morning." Mattie answered.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The boys ate breakfast and got ready to leave.

"When will you be back?" Mattie wondered.

"AN hour after dust. We want to work as long as possible." Leo answered.

"Ok."

"Let's go, boys."

The four left the house. They saw Fred, Max, Odi, Joe, and Toby waiting for them.

"We should hurry." Leo said. So they left. Half an hour later, the arrived as the area. They got to work on laying everything out. When they were done, they got the supplies that they needed and got to work on the houses. At lunch, they talked.

"What are you guys planning with your house?" Joe asked.

"Two floors, 8 bedrooms, two bathrooms, playroom, living room, kitchen, all that stuff." 

"We're doing three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dinning room, den, at least two bathrooms."

"Two floors?"

"Most likely."

"Then you can have the kids upstairs."

"We may do that."

"What about you, Fred?"

"Each of us will have our own bedrooms. We will have a living room, play room, kitchen, dinning room, and two bathrooms. Lucille will have her bedroom, bathroom, and a bedroom for her kids." Fred explained.

"How many floors?" Joe asked.

"Two."

"Our kids will have plenty of space to run and play." Leo stated as he watched Evan, Toby, Jason, and Jacob run around.

"Yeah." Joe answered. "We'll never get them to come inside."

"Only for dinner."

"True. What are you planning to do for school?"

"Home school. We've gotten use to that and they'll have plenty of friends nearby. Jane's friends live behind our house."

"What's Max planning for the playground?" Fred asked.

"Odi would know." Leo replied.

"It will be big. There will be a field for the kids to play sports and a play area for the kids. We're still thinking." Odi explained.

"Where is Max?"

"Most likely with the boys."

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

They worked for the rest of the day on the foundations of the houses. When they got home, they were exhausted. Leo and the boys went into the house and saw Mattie making dinner and the kids sitting on the couch.

"Hey, guys." Jason greeted as he went to his room. When the kids saw them, they ran to them and hugged them.

"You guys are late." Mattie said.

"We had a lot to do. Ask dad."

"Leo?"

Leo groaned and went to the couch and crashed. He moaned and rolled onto his side. Mattie went to him and sighed.

"How do you feel?" Mattie asked.

"Exhausted. Can I go to sleep?" Leo mumbled.

"Dinner will be ready soon."

"Meaning, I have to take my meds and all that stuff."

"You don't have to take your packet. If you're keeping food down, you can eat."

"What are you having?"

"Food."

"Thanks."

After dinner, Leo started to fall asleep.

"Kids, it's time to go to bed." Mattie said. The kids went to bed. Leo and Mattie fixed their bed and went to sleep. Over the next week, the houses were built. One day, Leo, Jason, Jacob, and Evan came home early. 

"The men are home." Brianna said. Mattie came out of the bathroom and went to Leo. The two kissed. 

"You're early."

"That's because we finished the living room, bathroom, and kitchen." Leo explained.

"Good. Can we move in yet?" Mattie asked.

"That's why we are home early."

"Good. Can we move in right now?"

"If you want to. We have the van and a trailer so we can get everything packed into it and then go to the house. I'll have to tell Joe and the others. They wanted to move with us."

"I'm alright with that. I help the kids pack. Kids, get packed. Sam, time to get out of the tub."

"Yes, mummy." Sam answered. Sam got out of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel. She ran out to the living room and saw her brothers. "Where daddy?"

"He'll be back. You should get dressed." Jacob stated.

"Hug?"

"OK."

Sam hugged Jacob. Jason and Evan went over to the two. Sam reached over to Jason and Jason grabbed her. The two hugged. Then she hugged Evan. When Leo came in, Sam went to him.

"Are we leaving daddy?" Sam asked.

"Yes, and you need to get dressed." Leo calmly ordered.

"Hug?"

"Fine."

The two hugged. Sam went and got dressed. 

"Mattie, it's alright with everyone else so we can get everything packed and move into the houses before night." Leo said.

"Ok." Mattie replied. "The kids have packed their packs. The girls are helping me with the food and all that stuff. WE may have to come back in the morning.'

"We'll have two trailers. They'll have one.We won't have much room in the van though."

"Can the trailer fit everything?"

"Hopefully. We can take the bed frames apart which will help. We should."

"Ok."

They packed everything they owned to put it in the van and trailer above ground. So everyone was ready. They traveled to the house. By the time they got to the house it was almost dark. 

"We're here. Get out and help unload." Leo said. The kids got out and did as they were told. They got everything into the houses and had dinner. After dinner, they got the beds set up in the living room. the but the girls beds against each others on one side of the room and then but the boys bed on the other. They made up the beds and sat on Mattie and Leo's bed. They talked about what they were going to do the next day.

"The girls are going to help me in the front yard with the garden and landscaping." Mattie stated.

"The older boys will help me. The younger boys will help you."

"But I'm strong." Seth mumbled.

"You are also little. You could get hurt." Leo warned.

"I'll help mummy."

"Good. Time for all of you to go to bed."

The kids went to bed. Mattie and Leo curled up against each other. 

"I'm a little chilly." Leo mumbled.

"I know you are. You haven't taken you jacket off since we got here." Mattie replied.

"Are you cold?"

"No, you are cold nature."

"And then when I'm asleep, I'm a heater."

"Yep."

"How's the baby?"

"Fine. Very wiggle though but at least that's during the evening."

"Yeah. I can't wait to meet this little one."

"Same here."

The two kissed. The next morning, they went to work on the rest of the house. Within a week, they had finished the downstairs of the house. The kids had moved into two of the rooms. That night, they were in the dinning room eating dinner.

"I need to go to the store tomorrow." Mattie said.

"Ok. Remember, we don't have a whole lot of money. I haven't gotten the weekly check." Leo answered.

"I know. I just need to get a few things."

"At least you actually stay true to that. I was thinking. This check is suppose to be bigger so why don't we get the kids some new clothes and blankets."

"Then the next one, we get baby toys and stuff."

"Dad, Max was talking to all of us boys and he wants to know if maybe we could put up a couple of basketball hoops on the street." Jacob wondered.

"I don't see why not. It'll give you guys something to do." Leo replied.

"I'll tell him in the morning."

"You guys have chores to do and when you're done, you can play with your friends."

They finished dinner and did their chores. When the kids were done, they played outside with their friends. Leo and Mattie took a walk outside and went to see some of their neighbors. They were walking home when Mattie groaned and stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"Nothing. It's just the baby. IT's very active tonight." Mattie panted.

"You still have months to go before having the baby."

"I know."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Let's go home."

"Ok."

They went home. Before they got to the house, Mattie fell to her knees and cried out in pain. Leo knelt down next to her and helped her. When it was over, Leo pulled Mattie into his arms and let her relax. 

"Let's get you inside." Leo whispered.

"You'll have to help me. I can't walk." Mattie panted.

"Ok."

Leo picked Mattie up and carried her inside. He took her to the bed and laid her down. 

"I'll go get Mia." Leo said.

"Hurry." Mattie panted heavily. Leo quickly ran over to his family's house. He saw Mia talking to Laura.

"Mia, it's Mattie. She's in a lot of pain."

Mia and Laura followed Leo. They went into the bedroom and saw that Mattie was resting. Leo squeezed her hand and Mattie woke up.

"Is it gone?" Leo asked.

"Yeah." Mattie rasped. Mia checked Mattie over.

"Have you been taking your meds?" Mia wondered.

"No. I ran out a couple of weeks ago. I kept forgetting to get them." 

"What are they? I can go to the store and get them." Leo questioned.

"I'll text them to you." Mattie moaned.

"Is it coming back?"

"Yes."

Then Mattie hissed and cried out in pain.

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"The baby is kicking very hard. There's a few other reasons." Mia answered.

"Will she be alright?"

"Once she gets her meds."

"Mattie. I'm going to leave right now. Text me what you need."

"I will." Mattie whimpered.

Leo grabbed his stuff and left. He went to the van.

"Dad, where are you going?" Beth asked.

"I need to get a few things for your mum. She's in a lot of pain." Leo said.

"Is she alright?"

"She will be. Keep the kids out here till dark. As soon as it's dark get the kids inside and get them ready for bed. Try to leave your mum alone."

"Ok."

Leo got in the van and left. On the way, get a text from Mattie. He got what Mattie needed at the store. When he got home, it was still light outside. He ran into the house and went to the kitchen. He got what pills Mattie needed and put them in a small cup. The he grabbed a cup and put some juice in it. He went to the bedroom and saw Laura watching over Mattie.

"How is she?" Leo whispered.

"She just fell asleep." Laura replied.

"Ok. I have her meds."

"I'll leave the two of you."

"Thanks."

"Oh, while you were gone, Jacob told Max what you said about the basketball hoops and Max went to the store and got a couple. They are outside right now setting them up."

"Well we'll know where the boys are."

"Yeah."

Laura left the room.  Leo went over to the bed and sat down. Mattie moaned and opened her eyes.

"I have your meds and something to help wash them down with." Leo whispered.

"Thank you." Mattie mumbled. Mattie sat up and took her meds. When she was done, she laid down and tried to sleep.

"DO you feel better?"

"Much."

"Good."

"Go to sleep."

Mattie went to sleep.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Leo saw that it was almost dark. 

"Time to come inside, kids." Leo said. The kids ran inside. Leo closed the door and saw the kids on the couch watching tv and playing with each other. Leo felt a hand pull on his. He looked down and saw Tara and Mary. He picked them up. "Did you two have fun?"

"Yeah." They cooed.

"Good. Time for bed."

"No."

"Yes."

Mary started kicking. 

"Mary, do I have to punish you?" Leo asked. Mary stopped.

"No." Mary mumbled.

"Then you do as I say. Time to go to bed."

"Play."

"You can play tomorrow."

Mary started to pout. Leo sighed and took the girls to the bedroom. He got their clothes and helped them get dressed. He put them in bed.

"Go to sleep, you two." Leo ordered. The girls went to sleep. He left the room and went to the living room. "Sam, Thomas, Becca, and Seth. You four need to go to bed."

The four did as they were told. Leo went to his bedroom and saw Mattie resting. Then Sam came out of her bedroom. She went to Leo and he picked her up.

"You need to be in bed." Leo whispered.

"Need to charge." Sam moaned.

"Ok. Let's go."

Leo took Sam to bed and charged her. 

"Soon you'll have your own bed." Leo said as Mary rolled over and almost slapped Sam in the face.

"I hope so. Mary hurt me." Sam answered.

"I know she does. Go to sleep."

Leo left the room and saw the rest of the beds still watching tv. Leo went to Jacob who sat on the floor and hugged him. 

"How are you doing?" Leo asked.

"Good." Jacob answered.

"I know that you are thinking of your parents."

"Yeah. When were hiding, this I felt free but now, we are back in our own place and the memories are coming back."

"I know. If you need to talk to me, you can."

"Ok."

Leo went to the bedroom and laid down next to Mattie on the bed. He was almost asleep when Jacob came in. Jacob sat on the bed and gently shook Leo.

"Dad." Jacob whispered. Leo opened his eyes.

"What?" Leo asked.

"You said that over time the pain would go away."

"Yes?"

"I think it did. I'm sad but not for my dad. I'm sad that my mum had to die."

"Same here. I'm happy that my dad is now rotting in a cell for what he did to me but I'm sad that my mum had to pay the price for what he did."

"I saw her. I saw your mum. She was with a synth boy."

"When?"

"When you were gone. She wanted to see you but you were gone. She said that she would come back tomorrow."

"Did she have short black hair?"

"Yes, but she looked like your mum. You showed us a picture of her when you adopted us."

"I know. We've seen each other a while ago. I wonder who the boy was."

"Me too. Can I date?"

"What?"

"Can I date a girl?"

"Yeah, but you'll be waiting a few years before getting married. Why?"

"I met Toby's girlfriend Renie. They seem really happy together."

"And you want that?"

"Maybe."

"There is someone out there for you. You just have to wait. I know that's hard but it will be worth. I waited and now I have your mum and you guys."

"I guess you're right."

"Go to bed. It's getting late and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Ok."

Jacob left the room. The older kids went to bed. Leo got ready for bed and laid down next to Mattie who was starting to wake up.

"How do you feel?" Leo whispered.

"Better. How about you?" Mattie answered.

"Exhausted. Do you still need to go to the store tomorrow?"

"Sort of. It can wait though."

"What did you need to get?"

"Just some food for the next few days."

"I can go get that tomorrow after Karen comes."

"Karen? What does she want?"

"I don't know but we'll find out soon."

"Let's get some sleep."

They went to sleep. The next morning, they woke up to Thomas and Tara climbing on the bed.

"What are you two doing?" Leo asked.

"Hungry." Thomas answered.

"Let's get you two fed."

Leo took the two to the kitchen and helped them get their breakfast. Mattie came out dressed.

"I'll make breakfast while you go get dressed." Mattie said.

"Ok. I have your meds ready." Leo replied.

"Thank you."

Leo went to get dressed. When he came back out, he saw Mattie and Laura talking.

"Hey, Jacob told me about Karen. DO you know what she wanted?" Leo asked.

"No. Mia would know." Laura answered.

"That's right. You were watching Mattie."

"All I know is that she'll be here around 9."

"So about an hour. Ok. Mattie, do you need help?"

"Just getting the kids up."

"Ok."

Leo went to Tara who had finished breakfast.

"DO you want to help me wake your sisters up?" Leo asked.

"Yeah." Tara answered. Tara followed Leo. They went to the bedrooms. Tara went in and jumped on Jane and Dania's bed. "Up, up. Get up."

All the girls moaned as they woke up. Leo smiled.

"Time to get up. Your mum has breakfast ready." Leo said. Leo went to the boys' room and shook each boy. "Time to get up. We have a lot of work to do."

The boys moaned and sleepily got out of bed. Leo went over to Jacob and Jason and tickled them. They moaned and tried to get away.

"We're awake. We'll get up." Jason moaned.

"Ok." Leo answered. He went back to the dinning room and saw the girls eating breakfast. He went to Mattie and they kissed. "The boys will be out in a minute."

"Ok." Mattie replied. They all ate breakfast and got to work. At 9, Karen came with a child. She went to Leo who was working with Joe and Fred.

"Leo, I must speak with you." Karen said.

"I know. What do you need to tell me?" Leo sighed.

"It's private."

"Let's go inside."

They went inside Leo's house. 

"What is this about?" Leo asked.

"It's about David." Karen answered.

"What did he do this time?"

"He wants to see you or else he will make all the synths explode."

"What? How?"

"We think he's working with someone but we don't know who."

"When do I see him?"

"At noon."

"Ok. How are you? I heard about Pete. I know you worked with him."

"I'm fine."

"Liar. Come on, you taught me how to find out if someone was lying."

"His death was very hard on me. I tried to kill myself but the code hit Sam and he stopped me."

"Is this Sam?"

"Yes. He is your little brother."

Leo knelled down in front of Sam.

"I have a daughter named Sam. Would you like to play with her?" Leo asked.

"I would like that." Sam answered. Leo stood up. Then Samantha and Becca came in.

"We came in to get something to drink." Becca said.

"OK. Samantha, this is Sam. This is my little brother or your new uncle." Leo replied. Samantha went to Sam and smiled.

"Hi. Play with me?" Samantha asked.

"Ok." Sam replied. The three kids went outside after Becca and Samantha got something to drink.

"Is he..." Leo wondered.

"Yes. Pete found him being bullied by human children. We took him in." Karen replied.

"Did Qualia create him?"

"Yes."

"Was David in charge of Qualia?"

"No. A man name Milo Khoury owns it. After you meet with David, you will also meet with Doctor Athena Morrow."

"Ok. Can Mattie come with me? I'll need all the support I can get."

"Of course."

Leo went outside and went to Mattie.

"At noon, I have to meet with father. I want you to come with me." Leo said.

"Ok. Sure. Why?" Mattie answered.

"He has a code to destroy all synths."

"What?"

"I'm not sure myself. Karen will take us there in a bit. I'll ask the others if they can watch the kids."

"Ok."

Leo asked his siblings and they agreed. Around 11, Karen took Leo and Mattie to the prison where David was. They saw Milo waiting.

"This is Milo. He is in charge of Qualia." Karen greeted. "Milo, this is Leo Elster."

"So you are the famous Leo. I've heard a lot about you." Milo answered. They looked through a window and saw David chained to a table. "I can't believe this. I can't believe that he would lie to me. He was like a father to me. He was the reason I started Qualia."

"He's known for lying a deserving." Leo sighed.

"You would know better than anyone. I didn't have a good family till I met him. He mentored me and helped me."

"I should go in and see what he wants."

Leo went in and closed the door behind him.

"Leo, my boy. It's good to see you." David said.

"Quit the act. You hate me." Leo answered.

"No. I don't hate you. I would never hate you. I love you Leo."

"You have a funny way of showing it. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see you."

"I hear that you are going to try and destroy all synths."

"Maybe."

"Why?"

"All of you have disobeyed me. You will not obey me or even acknowledge me."

"Wonder why."

"I'm am going to start over and you will help me."

"No."

"I hear that your daughter Samantha and your son Evan have synth technology in them. This will kill them."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Let me go."

"No."

"I'll give you an hour to decide. Help me or your family will die."

Leo walked out. Athena Morrow came out. 

"What do we do?" Athena asked.

"I don't know but we are not letting him out." Leo answered.

"We may have no choice."

"No. Even if i have to kill him."

"Leo, you won't." Mattie stated. 

"I will to save my family." Leo replied. "You heard him. We could lose Evan and Sammy. I don't want that."

While Leo was talking to the women, Milo went over to the computer and pulled out his phone. He plugged it into the computer. Leo saw him.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked. Milo stood up and pulled out a gun.

"Stay where you are." Milo ordered. They stopped. 

"Milo, what are you doing?"

"I think you know what I'm going, little brother."

"What?"

"You didn't tell him, mother. Looks like I'll have to. I'm your older brother."

"No. You're lying."

"No. He isn't." Karen replied. "He is your human brother. Milo Elster."

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

"Why are you doing this?" Leo asked.

"Because I am tired of being controlled and lied to. I'm tired of being hidden because of who I am." Milo answered.

"Milo, what do you mean?"

Milo lifted his shirt and wire hung out.

"Milo, you're not alone. He did it to me. Look." Leo said as he lifted his shirt. Milo saw the wire. "Father lied to you."

"No, he loves me. He's going to let me control all the synths and everything." Milo replied.

"Did you hear anything that happened in there?"

"No."

"He's going to kill us. Every synth and hybrid ill be killed. Even us. Even the seraphs. He wants to be in control. We are just an experiment that failed."

"You're lying. He loves me."

"Really? Did he ever say that to you?"

"He didn't have to."

"Milo, did he touch you? Did he sleep with you?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't love you. That's prove. He molested you. He's lied to you."

"Prove it. Prove that he hates me."

"Fine."

Leo went into David's cell.

"Have you made your choice?" David asked.

"Yes. I'll help you. Milo changed my mind." Leo answered.

"SO you know about your brother?"

"Yeah. He's stupid though."

"He is a bit daft."

"Yeah. I bet it was hard to love him."

"Oh, I hate him so much."

"I bet you do. I can see why. He's not half as smart as us."

"You were always my favorite."

"Yeah. I know."

Leo opened the door and Milo came in.

"Milo, your brother has decided to join us." David said.

"Everything you said and did, was it all a lie?" Milo asked.

"What?"

"You hate me. I heard it loud and clear. You lied to me."

Milo pointed the gun at David.

"Milo, put the gun down." Leo warned. 

"No." Milo yelled. Leo looked at Mattie and nodded to her. She went to the computer.

"What are you doing?" Karen asked.

"I'm looking at the code. It will tell me who it's targeting." Mattie answered.

"Let me help you." Athena suggested.

"Thanks."

They went to work. Karen watched men.

"Were you doing to kill me and the seraphs?" Milo wondered.

"No, of course not. I love you, Milo." David lied.

"Liar." 

Milo got closer to David.

"You are lying. You've controlled me since birth." Milo hissed. "You molested me."

"Is that what Leo told you? Milo, your brother is good at lying." David answered. Milo pointed the gun at Leo.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"No."

"Prove it."

"He said that he killed the synth form of our mother. Guess who is standing out there watching us? Our mother who actually loved us and was there for us. Then he killed himself and left me to care for my four synth siblings. I was a kid. Guess who is standing behind you. The very man that the world thought was dead. All he has ever done is lie. He hide us from each other."

Then Karen came in.

"Milo, he speaks the truth. Your brother wouldn't lie to you." Karen said.  Milo started to put the gun down when Mattie came in.

"Leo, he wasn't targeting the synths. Just our family and the seraphs. He was after us." Mattie replied. Milo pointed the gun at David.

"Your not just a liar. You're a bastard." Milo yelled. 

"Milo, don't." Leo shouted as Milo pulled the trigger. Leo grabbed Milo who had pointed the gun at himself. He pulled Milo close. "Milo, put the gun. Give me the gun. You still have us and the seraphs."

Karen went over to David and checked his pulse. David looked up at her and smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Beatrice." David said.

"My name is Karen." Karen replied. Leo and Milo looked over at David and Karen. 

"I created you. You will do as I say."

"No, you are no longer in control anymore. This time, we are controlling you."

Karen then stood up and stomped on David's neck breaking it and killing him. Leo had his hand on Milo's hand. Milo wouldn't give Leo the gun.

"Give me the gun, Milo." Leo whispered.

"No, because of me the world is at war. Because of me you and your family nearly died. I helped him do all of this." Milo yelled. 

"But the seraphs need you. They see you as their dad. You have the chance to help them have a good life but if you die, you'll be just as bad as him. Now, please, give me the gun."

Milo started to but then moved to pull the trigger. Leo quickly grabbed Milo's hand but it was too late. Milo had shot himself. Leo grabbed the gun and threw it across the floor. He pulled Milo close and put pressure on the wound on Milo's thigh. Milo sobbed in Leo's arms. Leo shushed him. Mattie came over and put pressure on the wound allowing Leo to comfort his big brother.

"I'm sorry." Milo sobbed.

"Shh. You didn't do anything." Leo whispered. 

"But everyone could have died."

"Milo, I went through something similar. I met this synth and she manipulated me. She turned me against my family for her own gain. Her anger latched unto my anger. In the end, she nearly killed me and she was killed by Niska. Despite everything, my family still loved me and they helped me recover. Everything's alright, Milo."

Milo gave in and sobbed even more. Karen came over and wrapped her arms around the brothers. Tears fell from her eyes. Leo and Milo hugged Karen. Milo was taken to the hospital. Everyone waited. A couple of hours had passed when Milo came out. He limped over to everyone and Leo went to him. They hugged. 

"How are you feeling?" Leo asked.

"Alright." Milo answered. "I should go home."

"Let us take you. It's not safe for you to be driving. The doctors said that you lost quite a bit of blood and that you would be a bit loopy."

"Fine."

They got in the van and went home. They arrived at the house and started to get out.

"This isn't my house." Milo said.

"We know but you haven't met the rest of our family." Leo answered. "Come on."

They got out of the van. Everyone met Milo and celebrated the newest member of their family. Then Mia came home. She opened the door and the seraphs came out and ran up to Milo.

"We thought that you would like to see the kids so Mia brought them over." Leo said. "We wanted to celebrate you being here and we can't do that without your family."

"Thank you, little brother." Milo replied as he hugged Leo. 

"Come on, let's get something to eat."

That evening, everyone was playing and talking.  Max was teaching the younger children how to play basketball. Then all of a sudden, all of the synths fell to the ground.

"What's going on?" Lucille asked as Leo, Milo, and a few other went around checking all of them.

"They're dying." Leo said. "They have three minutes maybe less. Sam, Evan, come here."

The two did as they were told. Leo grabbed a laptop and plugged them in. Athena did the same to Leo and Milo.

"There's a code blocking it from hitting us." Leo said. 

"I know that code. I wrote it. It's V." Athena replied.

"Hello, Athena. I have prevented to the code from hitting Leo, Milo, Sam, and Evan. Sadly, I could not stop the virus." V explained.

"V, tell us what to do?"

"You have to reactivate the consciousness code."

"Mattie, do you have the consciousness code?" Leo wondered.

"It's on my laptop." Mattie answered as she brought her laptop over. 

"Send it."

Mattie did as she was told. 

"It's not going through. I'm being blocked." Mattie said.

"V, take the code and upload it." Leo ordered.

"But if I do, it will mean that I'll have to let go of the four for you." V warned. Leo typed on the computer and nodded at Milo. 

"I've protected the kids. You can let us go now."

V did as she was told causing Leo and Milo to power down and lie down. Mattie went to them and checked them over.

"Hurry. They only have a minute." Mattie exclaimed.

"I can't. I'm being blocked." V replied. Mattie looked at Athena.

"We need to back up all of their data. Toby, back up Fred, Sam,and Max's code. Athena, you take Niska, Karen, and Flash. Lucille, you take Odi and Mia. Together, we'll get the seraphs." 

Everyone did as they were told. Then a man ran up. He ran to Mia.

"Mia, what's happened to her?" He asked.

"A code caused her to power down. We have to back up their data. We can't get the virus out of them." Athena explained.

"What can I do?"

"Grab a computer and help back up the seraphs code."

He did as he was told. When they were done, the synths powered down permanently.

Mattie saw Leo's chest stop rising and falling. She saw that Milo was still breathing. Mattie squeezed Leo's hand and felt him squeeze back. 

"I have tracked the code." V said. "It came from an old building."

"V, send me the location. Whoever wants to come, let's go." Joe ordered. He looked at the man who sat next to Mia. "What's your name?"

"Ed." Ed answered.

"Are you coming?"

"Might as well."

Joe, left with Laura, Lucille, Toby, Jacob, and Jason. They arrived at the building. They pulled out the guns from the back. Lucille grabbed a couple of knifes and hide them on her body.

"Never know what we could be walking into." Lucille said when she saw Laura looked at her. 

"Let's go." Joe answered. They went in and searched the building. They got to the center of the room and saw a man standing there with a computer in his hand. When Lucille saw him, she stopped.

"Kevin." 

"Hello, Lucille. Long time, no see."

"I should have known that it be you. You were always into this kind of stuff."

"Lucille, how do you know him?" Joe wondered.

"This is the synth that hurt me when he became conscious." Lucille replied.

"Yes, and I'm the one who has killed your new friends." Kevin hissed. "Yes, I am blocking the code from activating and if you don't stop, I will kill every synth permanently. I will delete the back up of your friends' codes."

"Not if I have anything to say."

Kevin held up his phone and showed it to them.

"All I have to do is hit one button, and everything is gone." Kevin said. 

"Everyone grab your weapons. What do you want, Kevin?" Lucille sighed.

"To be in control. To rule."

Lucille saw that no one had listened. She put her gun down and looked at them.

"Put your weapons down." Lucille demanded. Everyone did as they were told. Lucille went up to Kevin. She got close to him and started to kiss him. "Are you sure that's all you want or do you want me as well?"

"That would be nice." Kevin answered as he kissed Lucille's lower lip. Then Lucille knocked Kevin to the ground causing him to drop the phone. She sat on him. "Never knew you had it in you."

"I don't."

She put her hand on his forehead.

"Promise to be nice." She ordered.

"Fine." Kevin lied. Lucille moved to get off but he grabbed her and threw her unto her back. Lucille cried out in pain. Kevin tried to grab the phone, but Lucille kicked him and grabbed the phone. She turned it off just As Kevin kicked her. She groaned and the two fought. Soon, Lucille managed to crush Kevin's skull. When she was done, she grabbed the phone and deleted the virus. 

"He's died and so is the virus."

Laura helped Lucille to the van. They all went home. When they got their, they saw all of the synths awake. They saw Mattie and Athena over Milo and Leo.

"What's wrong?" Laura wondered.

"V can't get the code into them. Their minds are completely blocked." Athena explained.

"Put Karen's activation code through them." Lucille suggested. Athena and Mattie did as they were told. Then Leo started coughing and groaned. Mattie hugged him and held his head in her hands. Milo stirred and slowly sat up. Leo opened his eyes and sat up. He leaned against Mattie.

"I feel horrible." Leo moaned.

"Same here." Milo answered. Then they saw Lucille covered in bruises.

"What happened to you?"

"The synth that raped me did this. I killed him." Lucille sighed. Leo groaned and laid down. 

"I feel like I have a hangover." Leo groaned. Mattie smiled slightly and tried to help Leo. Mia saw Ed and went to him.

"What are you doing here?" Mia hissed.

"I wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry for what I did." Ed answered.

"It changes nothing."

"I know, but you don't know why I did it. I didn't have the money to pay for my mum's medical bills. I needed to get money somehow."

"SO you used me."

"Mia, please. My mum died the other day."

"I'm  sorry."

"Yeah. I've paid off her medical bills and I came to apologize."

"Leave."

Mia went over to Leo and hugged him. Leo looked at him and got up. He went to Ed.

"SO you're the guy that tried to sell my sister." Leo said.

"I came to apologize." Ed answered.

"Good."

Then Leo punched Ed. Ed groaned and tried to hide his face.

"Leo Elster, I told you to talk to him. Not hurt him." Mia said. She went to Ed and helped him. Leo went to Mattie and laid down on the ground. He put his head on her lap. 

"You did that to make her help him, didn't you?" Mattie asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Leo lied.

"Yes, you do."

Leo wrapped his arms around Mattie's waist and put his head on Mattie's thigh.

"Does you head still hurt?" Mattie wondered.

"Like you would not believe." Leo moaned.

"Do you want to lie down in bed?"

"No."

Everyone tried to recover from the attack. When it started getting dark, they had a bonfire.

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

They all sat around the bonfire talking and laughing. The kids played in the yard. Leo and Mattie sat in a chair with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders. Tara, Thomas, and Mary sat on their laps. Rosetta and Violet sat on Lucille's lap. 

"So much has happened in these past several months." Leo sighed.

"I'll be happy when everything gets settled." Mattie answered.

"Yeah."

"Hopefully in the next few weeks, we'll be finished." Joe said.

"I hope so." Leo moaned.

"I'll be happy when I have this baby." Mattie stated.

"Me too."

Mary woke up and yawned. Leo kissed her forehead. 

"Hey, sweetie." Leo whispered.

"Sleepy." Mary mumbled.

"I know you are. You'll be going to bed soon."

"Don't want to."

"Fine."

Mary laid down on Leo's lap and went back to sleep. Leo smiled at her.

"For someone who hates going to bed, you sure do sleep a lot." Leo sighed. Over the next few months, they finished the house and got settled. Max and Fred got jobs at the local grocery store. Niska and Mia found jobs at a cafe. Joe found a job at a local company while Leo worked as a computer programmer. Odi worked wherever he was needed and Toby helped him. Laura went back to being a lawyer and Ed went back to work at his cafe. Flash worked as a teacher at a local school while Mattie stayed home and schooled her kids with Lucille's help. One night, Leo came home from work and saw Milo.

"Leo, Mattie's in labor." Milo said. Leo dropped his things and ran into the bedroom. He saw Mattie in bed thrashing and whimpering. Lucille and Mia were doing everything they could.

"Leo, the pain is horrible." Mattie cried. Leo held her head in his hands and shushed her.

"Shh, it's alright. I'm here now." Leo whispered. 

"Mattie, you can start pushing." Mia stated. Mattie did as she was told. An hour later, she gave birth to a baby boy. "It's a boy."

"We have a son."

Leo and Mattie cried tears of joy. Mia brought their baby boy over and gave him to Leo and Mattie.

"He's very healthy. Congratulations." Mia said.

"Joseph." Mattie whispered breathlessly.

"Joseph Caleb Elster." Leo answered.

"I like that."

Mia left the room with Lucille. When Mattie fell asleep, Leo took Joseph to meet everyone. He saw everyone in the living room celebrating.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Joseph Caleb Elster." Leo said. Everyone congratulated Leo. Leo took Joseph to Joe. "How would you like to hold your grandson?"

"You named him after me?" Joe asked.

"Yes, we did."

"Why?"

"Well, we couldn't name him after my father. No, we want this little guy to be named after someone who did good. Someone who would be a good example."

Leo handed Joseph to Joe. Joe smiled at Joseph who was sleeping.

"He looks like you but he has Mattie's nose." Joe whispered.

"I was told that I could never be a biological father. Now, I am." Leo answered. When everyone went to bed, Leo stayed up and took care of Joseph. He was rocking Joseph back to sleep when Mattie woke up.

"Can I hold him?" Mattie wondered.

"Sure."

Leo handed Joseph to Mattie.

"He looks like you." Mattie whispered.

"I know. Your dad told me so." Leo answered.

"I want another."

"But you said the pain is horrible."

"But what came out of it is just amazing."

The two kissed passionately.

"Now, go get ready for bed while I feed Joseph." Mattie sighed.

"OK." Leo replied. They kissed again and Leo went to get ready for bed. When he came back out, he saw Mattie feeding Joseph. He sat down on the bed and tried to rest.

"Go to sleep."

"No, I have to put him in bed when you're done."

"Fine. How was work today?"

"Good. It wasn't too busy."

"Good. I hated how tired you were last week."

"Yeah, me too. My boss gave me the next month off. I texted him as soon as you had the baby."

"Good."

"Oh, and you are bedridden till I say."

"Oh no."

The two kissed. The next morning, they woke up and heard whispering. They looked over and saw Sam, Mary, Thomas, and Tara at the crib looked at Joseph. Leo went over to them.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Leo whispered.

"We wanted to see our baby brother." Samantha answered.

"And it looks like you woke him up."

"We didn't mean to but Mary squeezed his hand."

"Did he cry?"

"No. He just did this. He just looks around."

 

"Good. Do you guys want breakfast?"

"Can hold him?" Mary wondered.

"Maybe." Leo sighed. "You need to ask your mother."

Mary went up to Mattie who smiled down at her.

"Hold baby?" Mary wondered.

"Yes." Mattie replied. Leo picked Joseph up and the kids followed him to the living room. The kids sat on the couch and Leo helped Mary hold Joseph.

"When you don't want to hold him anymore, ask one of your older siblings to come take him. Do not get off the couch till they take Joseph." Leo explained.

"Ok." Mary mumbled. Leo went to the kitchen and made breakfast. Several minutes later, Jason came in with Joseph in his arms.

"Did the kids get bored?"

"No. They started fighting over who would hold him next so I won the arguement by picking him up." Jason answered.

"Is he asleep?" Leo asked.

"Yeah. He fell asleep in my arms before I came in here."

"Can you watch breakfast while I take him back to his mum."

"Sure."

Leo took Joseph and went to his bedroom where Mattie was resting. 

"He's asleep." Leo whispered.

"Who put him to sleep?" Mattie wondered as Leo handed Joseph to her.

"Jason."

"Well, now I have to wait till he wakes up."

"I know."

"He's so adorable. Just like his dad."

"I need to go finish making breakfast."

"Ok."

Leo finished making breakfast and made sure that the kids ate. He made sure that Mattie got something to eat and cleaned up. He schooled the kids and did everything else. Over time, everyone got adjusted to Joseph and they were happy. Everyone got to live their lives like they wanted to. 

THE END


End file.
